On Wednesday 10th of November 2021, under the observation of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Kurdistan Region and Federal Iraq, the 2nd International Scientific Conference of Medical and Biological Techniques began, which was organized by Techniques organized by Erbil Polytechnic University (EPU), Northern Technical University (NTU) and Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University (ATU). In the conference, the Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Deputy Dr. Abdulfatah Abdulrazaq, the Head Chief of Democratic Party of Kurdistan Mr. Ahmed Kani, the EPU Rector Asst. Prof. Dr. Kawa Abdulkareem Sherwani, the President of Furat Al-Awsat University Dr. Mudhafar Sadeq Alzuhairy, Parliament members Dr. Galawezh Ubaid and Dr. Zedan Bradosti, the University Council Members of the three participating universities were present.
The conference started with one minute Standing for a minute of silence in memory of the martyrs’ souls by listening to the national Iraqi and Kurdistan patriotic anthem. Firstly, the Higher Education and Scientific Research Minister Deputy Dr. Abdulfatah Abdulrazaq delivered his statement. He mentioned the importance of such conferences and the Kurdistan Region universities’ development regionally and internationally, especially Erbil Polytechnic University that built a strong relationship with the region and worldwide and scientifically developed. That is why we feel proud of the EPU. After that, the president of both Northern Technical University (NTU) and Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University (ATU) delivered their speech.
Later, his Excellency Asst. Prof. Dr. Kawa Abdulkareem Sherwani presented his speech. He said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the 2nd International Conference of Medical and Biological Techniques organized by Erbil Polytechnic University (EPU), Northern Technical University (NTU), and Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University (ATU). The conference themes are (immunology, health care, pathology, molecular biology, pharmacology, parasitology, mycology, physiology, clinical chemistry, and microbiology). At this conference, we have received 93 research papers and only 60 are accepted where they will be presented today and tomorrow. I would also like to welcome the three international keynote speakers from the UK, Sweden, and Iran.
This conference is part of the university’s strategy towards internationalization and globalization. In the past few years, the university has made all its efforts to enhance its collaboration with national and international academic institutions and organizations to improve its ranking and open the doors for students and staff to the national and global educational setting.
Dear guests, Erbil Polytechnic University, with its five technical colleges and seven technical institutes with more than 70 departments, offers to study programs in engineering, medicine, administration, agriculture, and technology. The university hosts more than (15000) students (700) academic staff.
For the third year running, the university has been implementing Bologna Process and ECTS for the undergraduate programs, which is another massive step towards the university’s strive for internationalization and accreditation.
Thankfully, these efforts have not been wasted. Our university in the national ranking (NUR) has upgraded in the last three years from group D to group C. Our ambition is to be in the first group in the upcoming years. Internationally, the university has also improved its ranking. Our international rank, according to webometrics, was 25000 five years ago. We have made an enormous jump into 9000 this year. Again, it is our target to be among the top 5000 universities in the world. These figures are clear evidence that EPU is going forward and improving in all aspects. We aim to continue in this way.
We can proudly say that we have an excellent relationship with the other public and private universities in the Kurdistan region and the other parts of Iraq, especially with the technical universities to serve the technical and vocational training and education in Iraq.
To encourage our academic staff to participate in national and international conferences, publish research papers in internationally recognized journals with impact factors, the university has introduced incentives for staff in return. In 2021, the team has responded by publishing more than 114 research papers indexed in Scopus and Clarivate Analytics, which have impact factors. In addition to 41 research papers nationally. We are proud that our staff has obtained two gold medals and one international patent recently.
Now, I would like to warmly welcome everyone and all the attendees. I hope we are having a productive and fruitful two days at the conference. The conference is also an excellent platform for networking and establishing collaboration with various institutions and researchers. The conference parallel sessions will provide a strategic ground for intellectual discourses and deliberations of relevant issues in several fields, especially in medicine and biology.
I would also like to thank the organizing committee members for their excellent teamwork and cooperation. I want to express my sincere appreciation to every one of you who has worked tirelessly to ensure the success of this event. I wish you all a fruitful conference, an enjoyable stay in the region, and Erbil, the capital city of the Kurdistan Region. I have a pleasant time sightseeing the beautiful places here. I would like to thank all the six sponsors and Ktv for the media coverage.
The conference will continue for two days, sponsored by the Kurdistan Television Satellite Channel. Sixty research papers will be presented at the conference. After offering and evaluating them, they will be published in national and international magazines that have impact factors.
