In this project, 3 Iraqi universities are involved along with Cihan University-Erbil, University of Fallujah and Al Mansour University College. By offering workshops for their faculty and helping them in their course design (partially face to face in Jordan and partially online), to contribute to improving the quality of education for students in a region that is known for large numbers of refugees that have suffered from decades of war.
Maastricht University's SHE Collaborates received a Nuffic-grant for a project in Iraq, which focusses on three aspects:
- Improving the quality of teaching competencies of teachers,
- helping the universities to design distance based education and
- aligning the education to the labour market.
On July 4th, Cihan University-Erbil took part in a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) training course and workshop to improve the link between educational initiatives and the labor market. The workshop included contemporary education topics and their real-world applications.
Two academic staff members took part in a one-week training course and ended with a workshop held by Maastricht University, Netherlands, on how to modernize education methods by relying on the student as the main focus in the process as part of completing a NUFFIC capacity-building project in the area of blended learning on how to link curricula and provide training opportunities to qualify graduates for the labor market.
While the University of Maastricht developed the PBL method of instruction, other universities have embraced the change from traditional educational practices to more contemporary ones.
Mohammed Hussein Shukur, the department head of computer science, and Dr. Ameena Mahmood, the department head of microbiology, both attended the workshops, as did representatives from two other institutions in Iraq and four universities in Europe (Portugal, Germany, Holland, and Brazil).
Cihan University-Erbil was awarded a grant for the academic year 2021-2022 in the amount of $77,607, which will be used to fund multiple online workshops, training sessions, and face-to-face training at Luminus Technical University.
