Background

The first International Symposium on Higher Education in Iraq was held, at the University of Westminster, in January 2004. Since then, the general election of January 2005 has set Iraq on the path of democratic transformation. Iraqi academics, at home and abroad, are determined that higher education should play a leading role in the building of a pluralistic and prosperous Iraq. This can best be achieved by joining the efforts of Iraqi educational institutions with their counterparts in other countries and with those of international, regional and national organisations.

Thus, now is the time for the establishment of concrete relationships with partners who can help the Iraqi institutions to renew their contribution to the well-being of the Iraqi people and that of the wider world.

Higher education has always been an important part of life in Iraq. The public sector comprises 21 universities and 47 technical institutions with about 350,000 students and 18,000 academic staff. There are also 10 private sector higher education colleges with some 15000 students. In spit of the present difficult circumstances, all higher education establishments have continued to function.

Since the symposium in 2004, many significant steps have been taken in the field of international co-operation. A few examples of such developments are

• Training workshops for academics, administrators and managers from Iraqi universities were organised in a number of British universities (Birmingham, Nottingham, John Moor and Bangor).

• Academic/scientific visits of Iraqi academic staff for 2-4 weeks to British universities (Westminster, Surrey, Birmingham, Nottingham and others) and the initiation of academic and research co-operations.

• The British Council wide range of activities in support of higher education in Iraq, among them the visit of the minister of HE, university presidents and senior academics to establish contacts and formal relationships with their counterparts in UK.

• The Association of British Publishers invitations to Iraqi university librarians to attend the 2004 British Book Fair and to establish contacts with UK publishers.

• Co-operation agreements signed between Iraqi universities with a number of British Universities (Westminster, Bangor, Cardiff, Greenwich and others)

• Donation of books and scientific journals to a number of universities arranged by the Association of Iraqi Academics in the UK and others with the collaboration of British Council and a number of British universities, and the Association of British Publishers.

• Fellowships/ scholarships and grants for Iraqi students to study in UK universities (for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees) by the MBI foundation.

• Fellowships/ grants for Iraqi students offered by the University of Nottingham, Central European University in Budapest and by Universities in Germany and Italy.

• International collaborative efforts to rehabilitate the Iraqi observatory (RAS, UCL, Arizona, Calar Alto)

• Signing of Memoranda of Understanding between Iraqi and the UK universities (Greenwich, Nottingham, Birmingham and Bangor), 2004.

• Student scholarships (MSc and PhD) offered by Nottingham University to six Iraqi Universities.

• Six months training courses for 7 academics, Chevening Technology Enterprise Scholarship Programme (CTES), April 2004.

• University of London tentatively accepting Iraqi secondary school certificate, the Baccalaureate, Science and Art Section for admission for study of University of London Bachelor degrees provided the candidate has evidence of proficiency in English such as IELTS.

• Development of particular training courses for senior members of Ministry of Education (Institute of Education, University of Westminster)

This is a good start and needs to be built upon from now on to secure further and more extensive co-operation.