Abdou Moumouni University

About

Abdou Moumouni University (French: Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, UAM), formerly the University of Niamey from 1974 to 1994, is a public university based in Niamey, the capital of Niger. The main campus is situated on the right bank of the Niger River. Historically, its students and faculty have been involved in protest movements in the capital.

The university currently has an enrollment of around 25,000 students.

The university is named after former Professor Abdou Moumouni Dioffo, a Nigerien educator, intellectual, and president of the university. From 1974 to 1994, the institution was known as the University of Niamey. The university was an outgrowth of the 1971 Centre d'enseignement supérieur, which consolidated a number of post-secondary and trade schools founded in the years following independence. Under French colonial rule, there were no post-secondary institutions in Niger.

The Université Abdou Moumouni includes a wide array of public institutions. These include:

Agronomy College, Université Abdou Moumouni, BP 10960, Niamey, Niger Agronomy Faculty Regional Center for Specialized Learning in Agriculture (Centre régional d'enseignement spécialisé en agriculture, CRESA) Département productions animales, faculté d'agronomie (UAM/FA) Département science du sol College of Arts and Sciences (Faculté des lettres et sciences humaines, FLSH), Université Abdou Moumouni de Niamey, BP 418, Niamey Geography Department College of Science (Faculté des sciences), BP 10662, Niamey Faculty of Science Biology Department Plant Biology Department Geology Department Center for Sahelian Research and Publication (Réseau sahélien de recherche et de publication, RESADEP) Laboratory Garba Mounkaila of Biology (LGMB) 1996- Niamey Teachers College (École normale supérieure de Niamey), Université Abdou Moumouni, BP 10963, Niamey Radio-Isotopes Institute (Institut des radio-isotopes), Université Abdou Moumouni, B.P. 10727, Niamey National School of Public Health (École nationale de santé publique) National School of Engineering and Mines (Tillaberi, Tillaberi Region) Satellite campuses in Dosso and Zinder Lamordé University Hospital is affiliated and many faculty and students practice medicine there.

The University Institutes of Technology (Instituts Universitaires de Technologie, IUT) are tech schools in the regional capitals of Tahoua, Maradi, and Zinder created in October 2006, and operating from 2007 to 2008. In 2009 it was decided in the National Assembly that the campuses would be integrated into the Université Abdou Moumouni. In 2011, new universities were created in Maradi, Tahoua and Zinder to which the University Institutes of Technology were integrated. The IUTs offer a degree, called the "Diplôme universitaire de technologie" (DUT), in a one- to two-year program for students who have completed a Baccalaureate or equivalent. Programs vary by location:

Location: Maradi. Opened: October 2007. Business Studies (finance and banking, commerce and insurance, business formation and administration) Mechanical Engineering Information Engineering

Location: "Commune Tahoua I". Opened: November 2008. Agribusiness (agriculture, husbandry, forestry) Tanning/leather works Tourism and Hotel Management Electrical Engineering

Location: Zinder. Opened: November 2008. Civil Engineering Hydrogeology/geology Topography City Planning

On 9 February 1990, 20 students in a peaceful march across the Kennedy Bridge into Niamey City Centre were killed by police and armed forces. This event, known as the 'Kennedy Bridge Massacre', has since been seen as pivotal in bringing about popular alienation from the government of General Ali Saibou.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.