The birth of Bahir Dar University (BDU) goes to 1963 when Bahir Dar Poly Technique Institute was established as a technical school under the technical cooperation of the Government of USSR and the Imperial Government of Ethiopia.  While its establishment is associated with the merge of Bahir Dar Polytechnic Institute and Bahir Dar Teachers’ College that was established in 1972. The two institutions were merged to form BDU following the Council of Ministers’ regulation no. 60/1999. BDU was then inaugurated on May 6, 2000. The university comprises five colleges, four institutes, seven faculties, two academies, and two schools. Presently, the university employs 1,638 academic staff members, among whom 278 hold a Ph.D., 1,028 have Master's degrees, 69 possess Specialty and Subspecialty qualifications, while the remaining 266 hold Bachelor's degrees. Notably, the Engineering Faculty includes the following departments: Civil, Electrical, Chemical, Industrial, Mechanical, Textile, Computer Science, along with the recently added departments of Water Resources Engineering and Food and Biochemical Technology.

BDU aspires to become one of the pioneer research universities in Africa and strives to contribute substantially to the nation and beyond through high quality education, cutting edge research and community engagements. In line with its vision, BDU has been classified as one of the research University by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education as of 2019/ 2020.    

Representative of SEED Center at the Bahir Dar University: