Monthly Archives: November 2025

Between 28–30 October 2025, the Dean of the College of Technology, Dr. Kihan Zrar Ghafoor, participated as the main speaker representing Iraq and Kurdistan at the international conference “Going Global 2025” in the United Kingdom, under the title:

“Staying Relevant: Securing Higher Education’s Role in an AI World.”The conference lasted for three days and was held in the Queen Elizabeth Hall in the UK.It is worth mentioning that this conference has been organized since 2004 under the supervision of the British Council.This year, the Dean of the College participated as a main speaker in one of the panels and answered the following questions that were discussed:

• Teaching and assessment: Were most university and college teaching models expected to remain relevant by 2035? Would humans or AI directly carry out teaching? How should assessment be done? What should the roles of lectures, exams, and academics be?

 • Research: What was the main role of universities in research? In the next 10 years, would research outside universities, supported by AI companies, become faster and gain better access to computing resources?

  • Digital colonialism or global governance: Would the AI era become a new kind of colonialism, where much of the world could not control its own future? Was there a governance solution for geographic and geopolitical inequalities?

• Employability and work: How could universities and colleges prepare graduates to be ready for the AI world? Could they keep up when AI models changed rapidly every few months? How could programs stay relevant in this fast-changing world?

   • New competitors: Would traditional universities lose their role in education and professional development to AI-based learning providers who offered faster and cheaper options?

  • Leading wisely in academia: How could universities protect their academic leadership and scientific authority in a time dominated by AI-generated and deepfake content? How could they remain recognized as independent centers of truth if they lacked the needed resources?

    • Innovation gap: How could universities outside China and the United States maintain connections and relevance if they did not have access to the dominant AI models and innovation ecosystems?

On Wednesday, 22/10/2025,Ms. Jwan Khalis, the director of the Information Center of the German Organization, visited the Rector of Erbil Polytechnic University and was welcomed by Dr. Edrees Muhammed  Tahir Harki , the Rector of the University.Together with the rector, there were Dr. Azad Hassan, Vice Rector for Administrative and Financial Affairs,Dr. Botan Majid Asinger, Vice Rector for Scientific Affairs and Higher Education,Dr. Abdullah Omar, Director of University Relations,and Mr. Behzad Helmi Akreyi, Director of the Rector’s Office.The purpose of the visit was to strengthen the relations between the university and the mentioned center.

During the meeting, they talked about two projects: the Vope Project (about Palestine) and the Taziz Project (about renewable energy).

At the end of the visit, they discussed future projects, and the rector thanked the organization for its continued support of the university.

On October 14, 2025, in a scientific step, the Presidency of Erbil Polytechnic University held a scientific ceremony to mark the registration of the university’s journal in the international database “Scopus.”

The ceremony was attended by His Excellency Dr. Aram Mohammed Qadir (Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research), Prof. Dr. Edrees Mohammed Tahir Harki (Rector of Erbil Polytechnic University), Dr. Amir Chali (Deputy Minister of Higher Education), a number of ministry advisers and general directors, as well as members of the councils of Salahaddin University, Hawler Medical University, the Polytechnic University Council, and several professors.

The ceremony began with a moment of silence in honor of the martyrs, followed by a welcoming speech delivered by Asst. Prof. Botan Majid Asinger (Vice Rector for Scientific Affairs). Then, speeches were delivered by Dr. Aram Mohammed Qadir and Prof. Dr. Edrees Mohammed Tahir Harki, who highlighted the importance of this achievement in promoting scientific research and the university’s international reputation.

Prof. Dr. Keyhan Zrar Ghafour (Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Polytechnic Journal) presented a seminar about the journal, followed by a video presentation from Prof. Dr. Alam Saeed (Editor-in-Chief).

Later, Asst. Prof. Karwan Wasman Qadir organized a discussion panel with Dr. Amir Chali and Prof. Dr. Abbas Burhan Salihi (Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Director of Quality Assurance at Salahaddin University). They discussed the importance and future plans of the Polytechnic Journal.At the end of the ceremony, Prof. Dr. Edrees  Mohammed Tahir Harki expressed his gratitude to Prof. Dr. Keyhan Zrar Ghafour and his team for their efforts in registering the journal in Scopus.