A delegation from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) visited Koya University being one of the main partner universities in the Erasmus Mundus, Marhaba Project. The purpose of the visit was to get acquainted with the institutional capacity of the University including its scientific infrastructure in terms of laboratories and research centers.
On 11/1/2016, the Erasmus-Mundus Marhaba Project delegation including Prof. Anselmo Seoana, the External Evaluator of Erasmus Mundus Project and Mr. Enrique Lopez Veloso, the Erasmus Mundus-Marhaba Project Coordinator visited Koya University and were received at the Koya University Presidency by Dr. Haidar Lashkry, the Director of Postgraduate Affairs at Koya University, Dr. Taha Jalal Omar, the Dean of the Faculty of Science and Health, Dr. Tara Fuad Tahir, the Head of the Department of Chemistry, Dr. Fahmi Fariq Muhammad, the Head of the Department of Physics and Mr. Hazm Ali Ramadhan, the Director of the Koya University Press Room.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Lashkry introduced the delegation to Koya University and its structure in terms off aculties, scientific departments and its academic and scientific facilities. He also explained the vision pursued by the University referring to the high position the University has attained at the level of the Region, which has been reflected in the latest National University Rankings (NUR).
The aim of the formal visit
Regarding the aim of the visit by Marhaba Project delegation, Dr, Fahmi Fariq, the Head of the Department of Physics said, "The aim of the visit was to have a better understanding concerning effective implementation of the project and to get acquainted with the academic and scientific infrastructure of koya University, particularly with regard to research centers, advanced scientific laboratories and number of staff and students."
Referring to the agenda of the visit, Dr. Fariq said, "After being received and introduced, the delegation was guided to theFaculty of Science and Health where they were shown the research laboratories at the Department of Physics. After that, the delegation was accompanied to the Research Centre of Science and Health inside the University campus to see the advanced facilities of the centre."
Later the delegation was led to the Faculty of Engineering and was received by Dr. Mohammed Zangana, the Dean of the Faculty and the heads of the different departments of the Faculty of Engineering. In a presentation, Dr. Zangana explained the capacity and activities of the Faculty and its different departments and the participation of the Faculty in the Marhaba Project. Finally, some of the academic staff and students who have recently applied to Marhaba Project raised their problems and concerns, which were discussed and answered by the delegation.
The delegation's feedback
Concerning the delegation's feedback after visiting the research centers and observing the academic facilities of Koya University, Dr. Fariq added, "Generally, the members of the delegation were impressed by Koya University's interest in scientific research and by the availability of advanced research facilities and equipment; their opinion in this respect was positive."
Dr. Fahmi Fariq is a PhD holder and his academic title is 'lecturer'. He is specialized in solar energy and he is also the head of the department of physics at the Faculty of Science and Health. He has (15) published researches. For more information click here.
Koya University is one of the four KRG's partner universities in Marhaba Project, a cooperation and mobility programme aiming at the promotion of intercultural understanding and the development of higher education in the 18 partner universities in the world. The project is sponsored by the European Union (EU).
On 24 November 2015, Dr. Dilan Majid Rostam Roshani, the Vice President of Koya University for Sceintific and Postgraduate Affairs held a seminar at the hall of the Presidency of Koya University where he explained the Marhaba Project to the students and administrative and academic staff of the University with the aim of encouraging them to make use of this opportunity.
At the beginning of the seminar, Dr. Roshani focused on the aims of the project and said, "This project is sponsored by the European Union and the European Market for the purpose of enhancing intercultural and academic relations between their universities and the partner universities in the Middle East countries." He further added, "This project will help open work markets and build capacities. Benefiting from this project helps you raise your academic capacities to a considerable extent and gain new experience in education and learning."
He then referred to the position of Koya University as a partner university in the project stating that in the next stage of the project, Koya University will move to a more advanced stage. Giving more details about the Project, Dr. Roshani added, "At the present time, the Erasmus Mundus consortium includes 18 partner universities. Within four years, the project has been able to grant 125 scholarships including Bachelor's, Master's, doctoral and postdoctoral degrees." He also stated, "Those who have resided in one of the eligible European countries for a total of 12 months over the previous five years at the time of submitting their application cannot benefit from the project." "The project also provides security services, accommodation, health insurance and a monthly allowance," Dr. Roshani added. For more information click here.
Six Members of Koya University have Benefited from the Project
Rekan Sherif, Dana Ghafar, Shivan Hakim and Shangar Mohemmed are the four Koya University students who were able to win a one-year scholarship to study at the University of Minho in Portugal via Marhaba Project. Regarding this opportunity, Rekan Sherif, one of the four students says, "After the announcement of the four seats by Marhaba Project (Erasmus Mundus), four Kurdistan universities were in competition for the seats. Fortunately, the Koya University students had the chance to get all the four seats." At present, these students are studying and doing academic work at the University of Minho in Portugal. For more information click here.
In addition to the above mentioned four students, two academic staff from the Faculty of Engineering have also benefited from the project. These two staff are: Mr. Peshawa Jammal, lecturer at the Department of Software Engineering, and Dr. Taghreed Khaleefa, lecturer at the Department of Architectural Engineering. Mr. Peshawa states, "My participation in the project was an academic visit to one of the nine European partner universities. I visited Bielsko-Biala School for Finance and Law in Poland in July 2015 and it was a great and useful academic chance for me." Regarding the project he says, "Marhab is a successful project and I encourage all students and academic staff to participate in it." Seeing that most applicants gain admission to the Universities of Spain, Portugal and Italy, Mr. Peshawa makes a suggestion stating, "I suggest that staff apply to the universities of France, Germany, Poland and Bulgaria because the proportion of applicants to these universities is smaller."
Mr. Peshawa Jammal is an MSc. holder with the academic title 'Assistant lecturer'. He has (7) published researches. For more information click here.
What is Marhaba Project?
Erasmus-Mundus known as Marhaba is an academic project sponsored by the European Eunion. The Erasmus-Mundus Consortium includes 18 universities in the world. The project aims at enhancing intercultural and academic relations among the partner universities and promoting higher education in these universities. For more information click here.
