On Wednesday, the 24th of April, 2024, in the presence of Prof. Dr. Edrees Muhamad Tahir Harki, the Rector of the Erbil Polytechnic University, Dr. Afan Osman Hussein, the Secretary of the University Council and a significant number of academic staff and students, the Shaqlawa Technical College in collaboration with the Capital Technical Institute Dr. Mohammed Shukri, the Chairman of the Investment Board, Dr. Abdulrahman Siddiq, the Chairman of the Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation Board.
The ceremony began with the national anthem of Ay Raqib. Then the Rector of the university delivered a speech. “once again, Shaqlawa has a special influence in addition to its historical importance that played an effective role in the liberation movement of the Kurdish people. We can say that the region is of special importance in terms of geography and agriculture, especially in plant production and animal production has an significant role, and more importantly, Shaqlawa is considered one of the most important cities in Kurdistan and Iraq in terms of tourism.
In another part of his speech, the Rector highlighted the influence of tourism in country’s development and introduced it as one of the most important sectors of the Kurdistan economy It was one of the cities that received the plan of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s tourism project and provided special services in the field of tourism.
Regarding the importance of Erbil Polytechnic University to the tourism sector, he said, “We have worked on the curriculum of the Shaqlawa Technical College according to the characteristics of Shaqlawa Therefore, we have opened a new scientific department in Erbil Polytechnic University for this academic year, which is the department of food quality Control in Harir district, which is suitable for the characteristics of the region. Shaqlawa Technical College has also worked on expanding the veterinary department, which now offers both diploma and bachelor’s degrees to students.
“We can say that Erbil Polytechnic University is one of the universities in the Kurdistan Region that follows the Bologna Process, which has been able to be the leader in the implementation of the Bologna Process. We hold annual workshops and meetings on how to change the curriculum to suit the labor market. Another important point is that we believe that universities are not only about providing knowledge and conducting scientific research, but also universities and academic educational centers must always be in constant contact with the society and always provide services to the society, to provide a healthy society, social equality and economic development to the society. We have worked on this kind of strategy and we will continue to serve our community. We hope that today’s symposium will be one of the works through which we can serve the tourism sector in Shaqlawa region.
Then the first panel entitled “The Role of the Government in Promoting and Linking Industry and Tourism” was presented by Dr. Mohammed Shukri, the Chairman of the Investment Board, Abdulrahman Siddiq, the Chairman of the Environmental Protection and Rehabilitation Board, and Mr. Amanj Younis, the moderator of the panel.
The second panel was presented entitled “The role of the academic centers and the government in creating entrepreneurship and promoting the tourism sector” for Mr. Kochar Azad Sadiq, Director of Career Development Centers in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Hoshmand Rafiq, a lecturer of Salahaddin University in Erbil, and Mr. Rebaz Khalil Khurshed as the moderator of the panel.
At the end, the University Rector and Dean of the Shaqlawa Technical College presented awards to the directors and participants of the panels.
