Dr. Dilan Majid Rostam, Koya University's Vice President for Scientific Affairs and Higher Education, held a series of important seminars about electronic university on 10,17,18 November in which all Koya University teachers participated. The seminars centered on the management techniques and the steps of implementing the project of electronizing Koya University and the role of the University staff in taking the strategy forward. The final seminar was given on Tuesday 18/11/2015, at 12 o'clock, at the hall of the Faculty of Education in the presence of the President of Koya University Dr. Wali Mahmud Hamadand the Dean of the Faculty of Education. 
 
Koya University owns a strong Electronic Foundation
At the start of the seminar, Dr.Dilan stated, "A strong electronic foundation has been laid to better manage work at Koya University. We are ahead of all the other universities and our experience in this field is unique. We have created an electronic portfolio. The system is only in need of operation and development. You can support the system by fulfilling your role as teachers through activating the system and constant contact with your students. In this respect, we have offered you all facilities; it only needs to be used by you and your students." He also mentioned that laying the cornerstone for this strategy, for which a number of world personalities have worked and have won renown, has educational and teaching implications. "Education and quality are inseparable twins. Nowadays, education and teaching are not only teaching students some basic numbers and information, but they have to create professional individuals who will be able to have important roles in building their community and also to promote the development of critical thinking," Dr. Dilan further said.

The concepts have changed 

During the seminar, the Vice President shed light on the current developments in the field of education and teaching, stating, "The concept of intelligence is changing and taking on a new meaning. Kurdistan Region owns universities and academic foundations and institutions, and every month millions of dollars are spent on the education system. The question here is whether the educational institutions are able to meet the needs of the community." Dr. Roshani further asks, "How can we develop the ideas and manage the system in the best way possible?" Here, he tells the teachers, "We have our academic institution for education and teaching, and we have also built the system. Fostering a culture of regular use of the system creates accountability and your participation in the process as a main component will lead to quality education." 

With regard to electronizing work at Koya University, Dr. Dilan says, "We started the project of creating an electronic university inside Koya University and we took the project forward and were able to establish an electronic foundation in a way that the users of the system, wherever they may be, will be able to work on it. The system is ready for use; constant contact with the system makes it succeed and pushes it forward." Dr. Dilan also referred to the principles and the main components of the project saying, "We drew an electronic academic circle for the main structure of Koya University in terms of students, subjects, teachers, departments and faculties, all of which comprise Koya University with the ultimate aim of serving the final circle, which is the community."

Dr. Dilan Majid Rostam is the Koya University's Vice President for Scientific Affairs and Higher Education. For more information,click here

The system is of great value for the other universities

Dr. Wali Mahmud Hamad, the President of Koya University was present at the seminar and participated in the discussions. He stated, "Today, many institutions use electronic systems, especially the universities. This is of great benefit since the system is the basis for globalization and bringing the world together. It enables you to be aware of what is happening around you and to obtain a lot of information close at hand. It also connects all the universities together and makes you aware of the researches, scientific advancements and the academic level of other world universities through a system called Webometrics Ranking of World Universities which webranks the universities on the basis of their presence on the web. It also decreases expenditure and saves time; therefore the system is very important and is counted in the webranking process." 

He also added, "In all institutions, especially in the university, if all members of the institution take part in the system, we better achieve our aim, and this process will be successful when the personnel feel committed and thus, both sides will get benefit. Koya University has been webranked as the fifth among the 28 universities of Kurdistan Region. Thus, when Koya University coordinates work with the other universities, such as conducting workshops and research, information is obtained more quickly and this is of mutual benefit for the university and its staff. 

Phasing the process of electronizing Koya University, the President of Koya University stated, "If we divide the new process of Quality Assurance and electronizing the system in Kurdistan into three stages, we can say that we are at stage three. At the beginning, teachers were against the Quality Assurance process and claimed that it was very demanding. At the same time, a number of projects had been assigned to the teachers, and for better achievement, we phased in the process. At the beginning, Koya University policy was to honour the first group and this led to a kind of competition among the teachers especially, Ph.D students. For this academic year, teachers have to be in intense competition for collecting the QA points. In the third stage, the national ranking of the Kurdistan Region universities came into existence, and this will have great impact on raising the academic level of the universities." 

Dr. Wali Mahmud Hamad, aged 52, is the President of Koya University. He is specialized in Chemistry and has three printed books, one of which is a scientific book entitled (Statistical Thermodynamics). For more information, click here. 

It is a connecting system 

Dr. Shwan Kamal Rasheed, the Dean of the Faculty of Science and Health, participated in the seminar, and at the end he told the Koya University Newsletter, "This seminar was very important because it explained how to connect teachers with the university and create in them the love for their job and how to connect students to their study and make them love their education program. The best way to do this is electronically where students can follow their lectures and see the data constantly. Thus, students keep connected with the university system; therefore, using the system leads to raising the academic standard of the university and of the students. We hope such seminars will continue." 

Dr. Shwan Kamal Rasheed is Assistant Professor and is specialized in Molecular Biology and Pharmaceutical Biotechnology. He is the Dean of Faculty of Science and Health. For more information, click here

After the seminar, Mr. Rebwar Kirmanj, stated, "It is a very advanced system and is used in most of the advanced countries and in the United States. Using this system at Koya University has facilitated our work. One of the advantages of this system is saving a lot of time for the users and the university staff; it has also decreased paperwork, bureaucracy and expenditure." Mr. Rebwar further said, "I regularly visit the site and the Press Room to be aware of what is happening at the University; I'm also aware of the uploaded publications of the teachers. Constant and active use of the system enable us to achieve our aims and this needs the coordination and cooperation of all the teachers." 

Mr. Rebwar Kirmanj Abdul-Rahman is an Assistant Lecturer specialized in Natral Gas at the Department of Chemical Engineering. He has 21 published researches and two books. For more information, click here.

A facilitating, good and rare system 

Dr. Saeed Salih Hamadameen, Dean of Faculty of Education, said, "This system offers a lot of economical and scientific facilities. It helps quick flow of information and instructions to the relevant people. The system enables rapid contact among the units and sections of the university, which creates a kind of understanding among the members and it brings teachers and students into close contact with each other because electronic publications can reach students easily and quickly and this will enhance their understanding of and familiarity with the system. Concerning the role of the teachers in making the system succeed, Dr. Saeed said, "Surely, if all the teachers take part, we can achieve our aim more quickly; otherwise, we cannot succeed because communicating information needs to be a two-way process." 

Dr. Saeed Salih Hamadameen, is Assistant Professor in Teaching Methodology. He has 26 published researches. 

Mr. Fahmi Fariq, Head of the Department of Physics said, " With regard to quality and improving relations between teachers and the university and being aware of the work and activities of the university, the system is very effective and it is of high level; it will be very useful for students because at present, most of the students have access to the internet and can obtain information very easily and quickly; however, the system needs cooperation from all. It is necessary that teachers, students and the management staff of the university cooperate to move the system forward." About his use of the site, Mr. Fahmi said that he visits the site on regular daily basis and updates his homepage in order to keep in constant contact with the teachers and share and exchange information and also to share his lectures with his students.

Mr. Fahmi Fariq Hassan, is a lecturer and is specialized in Solar Energy. He is also the Head of the Department of Physics and has 15 published researches. For more information, click here. 

It enhances productivity 

Mr. Hoshmand Ali Mahmud, who also participated in the seminar, said, "In this respect, Koya University is the only university among the public universities to own such a system. This system facilitates the connection of Koya University with other world universities and promotes relations among them and it leads to more achievements. The system is special as it protects the security of the academic and teaching staff, and this leads to capacity development and attempts for more academic advancement and it is also a good source of empowerment for the teachers." Dr. Hoshmand further stressed the role of the system in achieving the aims and said, "Developing the system results in enhancing the name and reputation of Koya University at local, regional and international levels, and it also creates different channels of work between teachers and students. Creating a complete teacher's portfolio results in academic connection and easy exchange of information within the university community." Expressing his optimism about the system, Dr. Hoshmand states, " Compared to the previous years, the system has greatly improved and in my opinion, it will further improve and step forward; therefore I am optimistic that it can have role in making more achievements."

Dr. Hoshmand Ali Mahmud, is a lecturer at the Faculty of Education/ Department of History. He teaches the European Contemporary History and the American History to the second year students. He has three printed books. For more information,click here
 

translated by: Koya University Translation Unit (TRU)
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