. A UNESCO delegation headed by the senior project officer Mr. Tim Mizen visited Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University (ATU) to discuss the possibility of implementing the second phase (Bologna educational path) of upgrading the Iraqi vocational education. The university chancellor, Prof. Mudhaffar Sadiq Al-Zuhairy, welcomed the visitor and discussed the mechanisms to activate the second phase of promoting Iraqi vocational education.
During the workshop held at the Center for Continuing Education, the university Chancellor explained that the university had earlier organized several workshops to develop educational curricula and education systems in Iraq. In particular, the Bologna educational path and the possibility of applying it in one of the university’s scientific departments as a model. the selected department is tourism technologies at Al-Najaf and Karbala technical institutes campuses. Prof. Al-Zuhairy also pointed out that UNESCO organized several workshops with the support and funding of the European Union in this direction.
For his part, Mr. Tim Mizen indicated that UNESCO is supporting this promising project to enable the Iraqi technical universities to keep pace with their international counterparts, particularly the universities of the European Union, in terms of the educational systems and approved curricula. He also praised the efforts made by the ATU university, which have witnessed a remarkable development recently in various fields. During the workshop, the Director of the Studies and Planning Department, Dr. Faris Muhammad Ali, and the Director of the Student Affairs Department, Dr. Raad Taha, gave presentations on the central concept of the Bologna educational path and its implementation mechanisms. Dr. Ann Catherine from UNESCO also attended the workshop via the Zoom platform.
