Today, Sunday, the 28th of April, 2024, in the presence of Prof. Edrees Muhamad Tahir Harki, the Rector of the Erbil Polytechnic University and Prof. Dr. Fawaz Ahmed Al-Zaghoul, the Director of the Arab Council, the 29th meeting of Arab universities to exchange training opportunities for students was held in the hall of the Cultural Center of our university that will last for two days.
In the ceremony, Prof. Dr. Abdulfatah Abdulrazaq, the Minister Deputy of the Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Erbil Governor Umed Khoshnaw, several Arab consuls, Mr. Ahmad Kani, member of the central committee of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Mr. Nechirvan Hussein Kalari, the Secretary of the Kurdistan Students Union of the Kurdistan Region, Vice Rectors, members of the Erbil Polytechnic University Council, Heads of Departments, teachers, and students were present.
After a moment of silence for the souls of the martyrs and listening to the anthem of the Iraqi Republic and the national anthem of the Kurdistan Region, several verses from the Holy Quran were read by Mulla Hawre.
Then his Excellency Prof. Dr. Edrees Harki, the Rector of the University, delivered a speech in Arabic in which he welcomed the guests and expressed his pleasure with the presence of the guests and delegations from Arab countries and called this a golden opportunity for students of the universities participating in the union. He said: “We are pleased to meet you today in the bosom of the Erbil Polytechnic University, in holding and organizing the 29th Conference for the Exchange of Training Opportunities between Arab Universities. This conference is part of our overall academic direction to develop the academic, cultural, social, political and other fields of our students, as well as to exchange training opportunities among Arab universities. The summer internship focuses on assessing our students based on their positive feelings in the work field, as well as the way they work with others, learning ability, self-confidence and sense of responsibility, skill development and students’ ability to build professional relationships. Despite their abilities to provide services to the surrounding community. They also develop their problem-solving skills and levels.
Today, universities around the world generally pay great attention to field internships, including our university, Erbil Polytechnic University, a vibrant and practical university in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, which has its own summer internship strategy. In this context, our university has paid great attention to sending students abroad, in addition to exchanging students in the field of training with national, regional and foreign universities.
The process of exchanging students in summer internships with international universities has many purposes, including cultural, social, educational and political purposes, as well as learning and becoming acquainted with the customs and traditions of nations and respecting them. That is to say, the exchange of students to participate in summer internships provides the opportunity to learn new and unique lifestyles and gain important experiences, as well as a positive impact on international relations and reduce tensions and conflicts in the world. and building sustainable bridges between nations, which helps to create new job opportunities in the world. In addition, the issue of student exchange has been linked to the issue of (internationalization of universities), as it is considered one of the indicators for ranking universities in many international classifications. Therefore, Erbil Polytechnic University pays great attention to summer internships and student exchanges with international universities through specialized programs in this field.
Finally, I would like to thank you for your participation in the work of this forum. I warmly welcome the guests and their presence in Erbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, with our sincere hopes and prayers for your success.”
Then, the speech of the Arab Council was delivered by Prof. Dr. Fawaz Ahmed Al-Zaghoul, Director of the Arab Council and the speech of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research was presented by Prof. Dr. Abdulfattah Abdulrazzaq, the Minister Deputy, then the President of the Council of Universities of Arab Countries presented awards to the Ministry of Higher Education, Erbil Polytechnic University and the Governor of Erbil.
In another part of the ceremony, the ranking of the universities that were the best in training students in 2023 was read out and awards were presented to them.
Afterwards, several presentations and seminars were presented, including: An introduction on the cooperation of Russian universities by Dr. Bashir Samaha, an introduction on Arab organizations responsible for admission and registration by Prof. Dr. Bassam Lamhadin, the General Secretary of the organization.
After a short break, the guests and participants of the meeting visited the annual festival of students of the Erbil Technology College and expressed their admiration for the level of skills of our university students in carrying out their graduation projects and their scientific level.
Afterwards, two other seminars were presented by Prof. Dr. Redhwan Bin Rashid, the Cultural Director of Malaysia on the student’s internship in Malaysian universities, as well as an introduction on Unirax Foundation by Mr Sharif Al-Jad, Mr. Majdi Hussein, and Ms. Linda Qiblawi.
Later, the delegation and guests from Arab countries participated in the Kurdish folklore festival of Erbil Technical Administrative Institute, and finally visited the Erbil Castle and other ancient monuments.
The meeting is scheduled to continue on Monday at the Shaqlawa Technical College, where a seminar on how to exchange training opportunities, exchange of training opportunities between the participating universities, as well as the closing ceremony of the meeting management, executive committee and introductory program presenters).
