Conference on Expanding Academic Cooperation Between Iraq and the United States

The Institute of International Education (IIE), in cooperation with IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund (SRF), held a conference on expanding academic partnerships between the United States and Iraq from June 27-29 in Erbil, Iraq. Approximately 180 Iraqi scholars, university presidents, vice presidents, deans, Iraqi government officials, U.S. Embassy officials, and international experts participated. This was the fourth in a series of seven conferences to be held by IIE and designed to engage key stakeholders in encouraging further major progress on higher education development efforts in Iraq.

Presentations and breakout sessions focused on topics such as: identifying needs and articulating partnership goals and strategies; developing policies and procedures for managing and funding partnerships and exchanges; creating effective and sustainable agreements and Memorandums of Understanding; and advancing curricular and teaching reforms as well as innovative research initiatives through strong partnerships. Different partnership models were examined, such as split-site Ph.D.s, joint and dual degree programs, research linkages, faculty development, institutional capacity building, and student and faculty exchanges.

In June 2011, IIE hosted its first major conference in Iraq on models and trends in contemporary higher education. That conference and a January 2011 conference in Amman, Jordan, were two of the largest gatherings of Iraqi university leaders in recent years. Earlier this year, IIE hosted a conference in Iraq focused on standards in quality assurance and accreditation. IIE and IIE’s Scholar Rescue Fund plan to hold three additional conferences in Iraq over the next two years, focused on topics such as new methods of teaching and learning (including distance education), curriculum reform, and faculty development. The next event is scheduled for January 2013 and will focus on new approaches and methodologies of teaching.