The professor is now in the process of finishing an Ethiopian edition of his book on Mathematics for Economists.
Knut Sydsæter, Professor Emeritus from the Department of Economics at the University of Oslo, has worked on improving mathematics for economists in several African countries since 1990. Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Ethiopia have been the core countries for the project.
Cooperation with Mekelle University in Ethiopia was initiated a few years ago. The students encouraged Knut to write an Ethiopian edition of “Essential Mathematics for Economic Analysis” (EMEA), a book he has previously written in cooperation with Peter Hammond. Knut is now in the process of finishing his work on the Ethiopian edition, which will be awaiting publication.
After meeting the President of Mekelle University, Mitiku Haile, it became clear that several universities in Ethiopia has similar needs. In addition to his engagement at Mekelle, Knut is involved in the PhD-program at the Department of Economics at Addis Ababa University. He is currently working on a proposal for the curriculum for mathematics in the program.
The interaction with hundreds of African students coming to his department at the University of Oslo during the years sparked Knut’s engagement. The students, as well as their home universities, signalised the great potential for improvement of mathematical courses for economists.
Significant amounts of time has been spent by Knut to help universities to improve their curriculum and access to books. The EMEA is now curriculum at all Zimbabwean universities that has Economics, as well as in Mozambique. Universities in countries such as Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya also make use of Knut’s books.
In 2006 Knut travelled to these countries to give advice about how to teach mathematics for economists, and African teachers came to Norway for a 14 day seminar.
The Norwegian Embassy has a close and extensive cooperation with Mekelle University, as well as Hawassa University, which has been ongoing for close to fifteen years. Addis Ababa University is also one of the biggest cooperation partners for Norwegian universities.
See link to Knut's homepage on the right.