In the afternoon of June 2nd, the dissertation defense of Abebe Sintayehu Adefires, the first international doctoral candidate of IWHR, was successfully held in Conference Room 962, Building A, South Campus. Prof. Xu Zongxue from Beijing Normal University served as the chairman of the defense committee, Prof. Tian Fuqiang from Tsinghua University, Prof. Wang Guoqing from Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute (NHRI), Prof. Xu Ying from National Climate Center and Prof. Chang Jianxia from Xi'an University of Technology served as the members of the defense committee. Secretary and vice president Peng Jing, vice president Wang Jianhua of IWHR, supervisor and deputy director Professor Yan Denghua of the Department of Water Resources, vice dean Wang Xingyong of Graduate School, and relevant personnels from the Office of International Student Affairs and Department of Water Resources attended the meeting.
During his four-year study in IWHR, Mr. Sintayehu has worked hard to overcome the language barrier, cultural differences and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with the care and guidance of the Graduate School and his supervisor, he has obtained excellent academic performance and fruitful scientific achievements. His publication includes three SCI papers as the first author, with the highest impact factor of 5.437, and submitted a dissertation entitled “Understanding Hydrological Processes and Their Space-Time Relationships in the Upper Blue Nile River Basin, Ethiopia”.
During the defense, Mr. Sintayehu made a detailed report on the topic selection, research methods, innovative research and academic achievements of his doctoral dissertation. The defense committee adhered to a rigorous academic attitude and listened to the report carefully, then proposed questions about the dissertation’s content, format, innovative research and other aspects. Finally, after discussion and review, the defense committee unanimously agreed that, the dissertation is rich in content and reasonable in conclusion, indicating that the author has mastered a solid and broad basic theory and systematic in-depth specialized knowledge, acquired the ability to conduct scientific research independently, and met the requirements of a qualified doctoral student. Therefore, the defense committee agreed to give Mr. Sintayehu a pass for his dissertation defense. Mr. Sintayehu has then also become the first international student to pass the doctoral dissertation defense in IWHR.
Mr. Sintayehu’s Dissertation Defense