On Tuesday 28th Feb. 2017, a workshop held at the Presidency hall of Koya University at11:00 till 02:00 pm. The workshop entitled; “Smart University; How much Koya University is Smart?” was opened and ran by Prof. Salah I. Yahya, the Director of Quality Assurance and Curriculum Development, and attended by the Vice President for Scientific and Postgraduate Affairs (Dr. Haidar Lashkry), and the Koya University academic teaching staff. Prof. Yahya presented the complete integrated e-system of Koya University that based on Google Apps. for Education and Open source Platforms. 

Asst. Prof. Dr. Fahmi Fariq, Koya University Instructor, Faculty of Health and Science, has published 11 research articles in 2016. The majority of the research papers have been published by Journals having high impact factor, directly related to Thomson Reuters Index. 

Concerning the selection of these research articles, Dr. fahmi said “Selecting the subjects to research is immensely dependent on their significance in Modern Technology, particularly in the field of Organic Electronics and Solar Cells.” 

Some of the practical sections of the research papers have been carried out by Dr. Fahmi in cooperation with international researchers from abroad universities. 

The European Commission (EC) aims to protect, preserve and improve the environment for present and future generations, proposing and implementing policies that ensure a high level of environmental protection and preserve the quality of life. The strategic priorities of the EC for 2016-2020 are to ensure the sustainability of theenvironment and the preservation of natural resources are key policy objectives. The EC is committed to pursue these objectives and respond to current challenges and priorities through three distinct focus areas: (i) green growth, (ii) connecting with citizens and (iii) making it happen.

The SEED Foundation with the support of the U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs has opened the Center for Mental health and Psychological Support Services at Koya University. The purpose of the center is to train academic staff so as to offer the best mental health and psychological support services to the psychological patients in Kurditan. 

In the recent years the reseachers of Koya University have become more and more active in publishing with reputable International Journals which has boost the global presense of the Koya University. Now Dr. Salah I. Yahya is a Professor at the Department of Software Engineering (DSWE), Faculty of Engineering (FENG) at Koya University. In cooperation with the UTM Big Data Center - Ibnu Sina Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research (ISI-SIR), Malaysia, Prof. Yahya participated in the 5th Asian Conference on Membrane Computing, Universiti Kabangsaan, Malaysia, on 14-16 Nov. 2016, and he presented a scientific paper entitled “Image Segmentation Using Membrane Computing: A Literature Survey”. The paper has been selected and published on 08 January 2017 in Communications in Computer and Information Science - SPRINGER as a Book chapter of  “Bio-inspired Computing – Theories and Applications” which is listed in SCOPUS.

Dr. Muhammad Ghafar is a lecturer at the Department of Physics (DPHY), Faculty of Health and Science (FSCH) at Koya University whoo is currenly engaged with Postdoctoral research at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Recently an international scientiic journal has published his research article. The artike is entitled “Structural and Optical Properties of Cadmium Sulfide Thin Films on Flexible Polymer Substrates by Chemical Spray Pyrolysis Technique”, Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics Volume 28 / 2017. Dr. Muhammad with his manor in Polymer Solar Cell points out that “The ultimate aim of this investigation is to use Plastic (Polyimide) as a substrate for thin-film solar cells”.

Dr. Sarbast Nabi, higher education lecturer at Koya University, has been appointed by United Nations as an adviser to the affairs of Syria in ESCWA commission, which is one of the leading institutions of UN. 

Pursuant to an invitation letter he received from the committee of United Nations, Dr. S. Nabi will attend the fourth meeting of the committee. Dr. Muhammad says “Following the submission of my research paper on Identity and Multi-ethnicity in Syrian constitution to the United Nations organization, it was approved upon as a documentary research paper for the agenda of Syria in the United Nations.” 

Behar English Language Center (BELC) at Koya University has been opened with the sponsorship of IREX and American embassy in Baghdad as well as with the support of Spring International Language Center of The University of Arkansas. Directly after its inaugurations, the BELC starts its English language courses. 

International Conference on Environmental Impacts of the Oil and Gas Industries: Kurdistan Region of Iraq as a Case Study in April 17-19, 2017: EIOGI 2017 Conference.

Koya University organizes its 2nd international conference on petroleum in 2017 with scientific sponsorship of IEEE and official support from the ministry of higher education and scientific research of the Kurdistan Region (KRG). Having more than 45 billion barrels of oil and 200 trillion cubic feet of proved gas reserves, the Kurdistan region distinguishes itself as a key oil and gas source in the Middle East. The oil and gas development activities in the region have been increased rapidly over the past ten years; therefore, the environmental protection became more and more important.

In the presence of the President and Vice-presidents of Koya University, the laboratory was formally opened on Thursday, Jan. 5th, 2017. This lab is highly specialized in cartography and GIS in the department of Geography from Faculty of Education.