President of the Northern Technical University Heads Delegation to the First National Conference of Iraqi Scholarship Recipients in Baghdad.

Prof.Dr. Alia Abbas Ali Al-Attar, President of the Northern Technical University, led a university delegation to participate in the opening of the First National Conference of Iraqi Scholarship Recipients, held on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. The event was organized by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Naeem Al-Aboudi, Minister of Higher Education, and took place at the University of Baghdad.
The university delegation included the Vice President for Scientific Affairs, the Director of the Quality Assurance and University Performance Department, the Director of the Central Library, the Director of Scholarships and Cultural Relations, the Director of the Technical Research Center, and several university scholars studying abroad.
In his address during the conference, His Excellency the Minister, in the presence of senior ministry officials, university presidents, heads of institutions, and a large gathering of scholarship recipients, emphasized that the decisions announced reflect the vision and mission of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, which has focused its efforts during this period on achieving positive outcomes. These have resulted in unprecedented decisions that serve the interests of the scholarship recipient community:
Counting the duration of study abroad toward academic promotion.
Cancelling the deferment of contractual obligations for those granted academic sabbaticals, to allow them to maintain connections with their host countries and continue their research and international collaboration.
Establishing a high-level ministerial committee, chaired by the Minister and comprising senior ministry officials, to review the number of returning academic staff and facilitate their assumption of leadership and academic roles in Iraqi universities.
Involving all returning scholarship recipients in teaching, supervising, and participating in postgraduate discussions, with the Supervisory and Evaluation Body tasked with monitoring this implementation.
Assigning scholarship recipients to teaching roles in the soon-to-be-established Colleges of Artificial Intelligence and Excellence at the University of Baghdad.
Commissioning the Department of Studies and Planning to create a platform for direct communication with scholarship recipients.
The Minister also urged all universities to include scholarship recipients in scientific committees and to assign them to prepare specialized studies addressing national development challenges, such as associated gas investment, water resource management, combating desertification and environmental pollution, and promoting sustainable cities. He also directed the Supervisory and Evaluation Body to ensure that the annual evaluation of university leadership includes criteria that reflect the utilization of the scientific capabilities of scholarship recipients.
The conference also featured a statistical presentation on the number and academic impact of scholarship recipients across Iraqi universities, delivered by Dr. Haider Abdul Zahid, Deputy Minister for Scientific Research Affairs. Dr. Hazim Abdul Razzaq, Director General of the Department of Studies, Planning, and Follow-up, also delivered remarks on the initiative to harness the potential of scholarship recipients. The event concluded with a dialogue session with His Excellency the Minister, during which he listened to opinions on the challenges faced by scholarship recipients and discussed ways to address them in light of the ministry’s recent decisions.