within the context of the British Academy-funded Education, Peace and Policy Project (EPP). The University of Ulster and Koya University collaborated on the research.
A workshop to choose a team of Koya University researchers who would undertake research within the framework of the project "Education, Peace and Policy Project (EPP)" was held on Thursday, April 6, 2023, in the hall of the Pedagogy Center at the Presidency of Koya University.
The Co-Chair of the EPP Project, Asst. Prof. Dr. Sherko Kirmanj, delivered a talk about the organization, its activities, objectives, and selection criteria at the start of the workshop, which was held with an audience of teachers from the Faculty of Education.
According to Dr. Sherko, the project's goals include forming a network for researchers interested in this area and better understanding the connection between educational institutions and peacebuilding in Iraq and the region.
Then Dr. Kamran Palani presented his presentation.
After a while, the participants were divided into three groups and each group discussed the research areas related to the project and had their own ideas on research topics and proposals.
- What is the Education, Peace and Politics Project's Researcher Network?
The British Academy has provided funding for the initiative Education, Peace and Politics (EPP). Koya University and the University of Ulster are collaborators on the project. The initiative intends to establish a network for researchers interested in working in this area and to better understand the relationship between educational systems and programs and peacebuilding in Iraq and the region. The project's initial goal is to choose 8–10 researchers from Koya University to take part in this network. Participants choose to take part. Network members will be chosen on the basis of merit and competence.
- Networking activities
The initial activities of the network will therefore focus on developing theoretical and practical capacities of research in the field of education because this subject is a relatively new academic discipline. Participants in the chosen network take part in a research training course. Members of the network will create a thorough research proposal at the conclusion of the program. The following subjects are covered in the training:
1. Knowledge of scholarly conceptions of peace and education
2. Research methodology and design
3. Ethics in research
4. Publishing in academic journals
Throughout the two years of the project, a number of chosen experts will visit Koya as guests and give lectures and seminars to the network participants in order to further improve the quality of researchers and research. Network members will be given access to the University of Ulster email address to access the university's library. Whenever required and appropriate, members of the network will receive full support in order to do research, generate academic publications, and publish them.
Network members are expected to attend all four three-day courses that will be hosted at KSU between April and December 2023.
- Members of the network are also encouraged to actively participate in other activities planned for the network, such as joining reading groups, engaging in independent study, and going to foreign seminars and trainings hosted by the program.
- Where necessary and suitable, network members will be supported to conduct research, prepare academic publications, and publish them. - At the conclusion of the inaugural workshop, network participants must develop a detailed research proposal on the role of education in peacebuilding in Iraq or Syria.
Applications must have the following goals in order to be accepted into the network:
1. A sincere scholarly interest in researching how education contributes to peacebuilding.
2. Make a commitment to enhancing your own academic and professional skills.
- Selection of network members:
To select the members of the network, we will hold a selection workshop on Thursday, 6-4-2023 at (10:00 b) in the hall of the Center for Pedagogy and Academic Development. We accept up to forty (40) people in the workshop. No credit will be given to the participant for this workshop. The motivation for participating in the workshop is only for the possibility of being admitted to the expected academic network of Koya University that we want to establish. The workshop will provide participants with information on the project and organize several group activities to highlight research in the fields of education and peace. At the end of the workshop, as mentioned, participants must submit a brief research proposal. The project team will evaluate the proposals and select the network members, based on:
- The level of the proposed research.
- Ability and skills of the participant.
- The degree of interest of the participant in our project and in conducting his/her own research.
- Commitment to participate in all training activities.
