The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Naeem Al-Aboudi, chaired the first regular meeting of the Opinion Commission for the year 2023, in the presence of members of the advanced staffing of the ministry and presidents of public universities.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister of Education directed to intensify work in the areas of community service, in addition to the tasks of teaching and scientific research, and to launch a community service portal in each university in the context of the goals and vision approved by universities and in light of the requirements responsible for academic reputation.
The Supervision and Scientific Evaluation Authority also directed the launch of quality standards for continuing education courses, the continuous development of primary and postgraduate curricula and programs, the study of final examination indicators from scientific committees, the evaluation of questions and their discussion in college councils, the activation of cultural relations and scientific communication departments with universities and international institutions, the establishment of joint scientific conferences, and the commitment of scientific departments to obtain Program accreditation, coordination with program and institutional accreditation councils, and setting a timeline for implementing the steps to obtain the required accreditation.
He urged the Minister of Education to develop research centers and research units, provide scientific solutions to state institutions and the private sector, register periodic university conferences in the Scopus database, activate the virtual library that provides postgraduate students and researchers with modern global scientific resources, and work to launch a digital container to index university theses and dissertations.
During the regular session of the opinion committee, the meeting discussed several topics on the agenda, and the following decisions were voted in affirmatively:
▪️ Approving the support and development of research and scientific outputs to enhance the quality of scientific research in universities, increase the impact of research published globally, provide appropriate financial support for the research field, whether from the general budget or from higher education funds, and honor distinguished researchers in the field of sober global publishing with a letter of thanks and appreciation from His Excellency the Minister of Education Higher education and granting the Medal of Scientific Excellence to the distinguished researcher at the level of Iraqi universities, and reviewing all legislation related to research centers and related to scientific research with the aim of stimulating the research environment in universities and benefiting from Iraqi competencies in international universities through research teams and involving them in the advisory councils of universities and obliging all teachers to pay attention to research Scientific being an essential part of teaching duties in institutions of higher education and scientific research
▪️ Giving Ibn Sina University for Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences three years to adapt to the conditions of some of its joint university buildings with Al-Mustansiriya University.
▪️ Voting on preparing a draft bill to cancel the decisions of the dissolved Revolutionary Command Council related to higher education and scientific research.
▪️ Formation of a higher ministerial committee to study the possibility of developing and opening public universities in the foreseeable future to accommodate the indicator of the increase in the number of students.
▪️ Approval of the performance of the student (Manar Khaled Haji), who was subjected to a run-over accident inside the campus of the University of Baghdad, exams for the first and second semesters at an appropriate time to be determined by the College of Science according to the indicators of the student’s health condition, then to perform the final exams, while the college shall compensate for the practical side during the year upcoming tuition.
The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Naeem Al-Aboudi, concluded the meeting session by emphasizing the activation and organization of the work and tasks of the psychological counseling and educational guidance division and setting scientific plans for counseling programs, activities and events, while directing all universities and formations to work by the legal powers vested in them, facilitating procedures and working in the spirit of one team.