April 21, 2024 - Erbil Polytechnic University

A joint International Symposium Between Mergasor Technical Institute and Porterville College in California/ USA
On Saturday, April 20, 2024, a joint International Symposium Between Mergasor Technical Institute/Erbil Polytechnic University and Porterville College in California/ USA, in coordination with the Directorate General of Education-Mergasor, was held under the theme “Teaching and Technology in the 21st Century: Opportunities and Challenges”.
In the symposium, there was a number of senior government leaders and educational stakeholders including Erbil Polytechnic University president, Dean of Mergasor Technical Institute and the president of Portville College along with a large number of school teachers attended.
The ceremony began a welcoming speech which was delivered by Dr. Talib M. Omer, Dean of the Institute, then began to present the program of the symposium, and discussed the evolving role of technology in education, with the identification of the challenges facing educators. Also discussed the opportunities provided by technology to enhance the quality of teaching and learning experience in the modern era, all of the above was presented by panelists in two themes namely:
First, developing the capacity of our teachers and adapting them to the teaching process in the 21st century.
Second, facing the challenges of teaching in the technology stage, turning them into opportunities.
The symposium aimed to bring together educators, policymakers, and stakeholders from various countries to discuss the integration of technology in education, its challenges, and the opportunities it presents. Cross-cultural educational collaborations facilitate the exchange of knowledge, ideas, and best practices, leading to innovative solutions to global challenges. Ultimately, such collaborations contribute to building a more inclusive and harmonious society where people from various backgrounds can work together towards common goals.
At the end of the ceremony, thanks were extended to the panel moderators and panelists and then certificates of participations were awarded.

On Sunday, the 21^st of April, 2024, in the presence of Prof. Dr. Edrees Muhamad Tahir Harki, the Rector of Erbil Polytechnic University; Prof. Dr. Sultan Abu Arabi, the President of the International TISHK University; and Asst. Prof. Dr. Botan Majid Asngar, the Vice Rector for Scientific Affairs and Higher Education, held an international workshop on creativity and innovation in collaboration with the Department of Business Administration of both universities and World Creativity and Innovation Week.

The workshop consisted of two main parts: the first part was a panel on innovation and (problem solving), and the second part was a special part on team problem solving between teachers and students of both universities.

In a statement, the Rector of the Erbil Polytechnic University expressed his gratitude towards the Rector of Tişk University, the organizers of the event, and world Creativity and Innovation Week. He said, “We are pleased to participate in another joint activity between the Erbil Polytechnic University and Tişk International University, in collaboration with World Creativity and Innovation Week. Ladies and gentlemen, innovation is a subject that concerns every individual. Innovation is not related to heredity, or a person is not born an inventor because his father was an inventor. No, in our opinion, innovation is an educational subject that students and young people should be educated and supported to become innovative individuals.

Therefore, we view this workshop from this perspective and such activities are very necessary for young people to be creative and innovate. Just as students can be creative and innovative in project learning, it is also essential for teachers to be creative and innovative in the classroom in order to encourage, support, and educate students that have the ability to be creative and to help them and give them opportunities and teach them to educate them to become creative people.

We would like to thank those who have worked with us, the World Creativity and Innovation Week. Mr. Zanyar Jabbar and Mr. Abdulsalam Madani who have worked a lot in this field. We have previously held a panel on this field for our teachers at Erbil Polytechnic University because we take this issue very seriously It is an important topic and we hope that you can benefit from this workshop today and become an introduction for students and teachers to work on this topic in the future. Thank you very much again for your attendance.”

The workshop was jointly arranged by the Department of Business Administration of both Erbil Polytechnic University and Tishk International University in collaboration with the World Creativity and Innovation Week, which was hosted by the Department of Business Administration of Tishk International University.

The first part of the panel was presented by Mr. Abdulsalam Madani, Mr. Zanyar Jabar, and Ms. Hedi Kamala as panelists and Dr. Abdullah as the moderator on Creativity and innovation and business leadership, creativity and innovation in universities, in business, and work environment were discussed. The panel was enriched with questions from the audience.

The second part of the workshop consisted of a section on teamwork to solve problems. They used some scenarios such as Sustainable Development Goals (SGDeS) as a team and there were several scenarios in groups. There were a number of scenarios where the university teacher worked with the students in groups to find appropriate solutions and provide innovative solutions to the problems.

At the end, certificates were awarded to all participants of the international workshop.