University of Duhok

The University of Duhok is a governmental institution in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. It was founded in 1992 to cater for the HE needs of the Kurdish youth. Currently, the university has 18 colleges, 17 training, consulting and research centers. The student population in the University of Duhok currently stands at 18,000 students. The University of Duhok’s mission is to support the economic, social, cultural and environmental development in the Duhok Governorate, Kurdistan Region and Iraq through the continuous supply of quality graduates and research in the different specializations.

The city of Duhok has other Universities with white range of academic subjects. These are including Duhok Polytechnic University, a public institution, and three private universities (Newroz, Gihan and American University). In the area, there are also several private institutions which specialize in various subjects, including Computer Science IT, Business Management, Law, English Language, Accounting, and Oil Industries, Economic and Business.

Main priorities for HEIs in the region

Since its establishment in 1992-1993, the University of Duhok has the following main priorities: medicine (with an established College of Medicine), agriculture (the College of Agriculture), engineering (College of Engineering), and languages. The focus on agriculture stems from the well-known potential of the Duhok region as a producer of fruits and vegetables.

The Duhok Polytechnic University has the following technical colleges at the various districts within Duhok governorate: Engineering, Administration, at Akre district, Health at Shekhan district, Technical Informatics College of Akre , Technical College of Petroleum & Mineral Sciences/ Zakho district. The newly opened Technical College of Petroleum & Mineral Science is developing research programs in collaboration with petroleum companies in the region and with the Ministry of Natural Resources for the development of the oil and gas sectors and their related industries.

To sustain the rapid development of the city of Duhok, doctors, pharmacists, dentists, nurses and medical staff are needed in the area. The University of Duhok is directly involved in the process of forming and training qualified medical personnel that can further activate in the Health Services sector in the region.

The University of Duhok has open faculties of law, basic education to graduates school teacher at varies levels. Humanities are including languages and IT, the new and recently built University library still lacking a lot of books journals and periodicals. The University library future plans is to establish online registration with various internationally recognized journals and other university libraries and academic institution.

Recent changes and developments in policy and/or practice

Some of the recent developments at University of Duhok include the establishment of the College of Nursing, the College of Medical Sciences and research centers in the Colleges of Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, the Center of Education and Psychology and the IT Center in the College of Science.  These centers are established to enhance research and collaborative projects with other regional and international institutions in various fields.

Organisation and management of the HEIs

University presidents are appointed by the president of the Regional Government. Other senior managers down to heads of departments are appointed by the president of the university. All the universities’ senior posts are appointed by the Regional Minister of Higher Education.

Geographical/environmental features affecting Higher Education

Public and private universities and institutions are all located within the city of Duhok. The colleges of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine at University of Duhok are located in the suburbs of the city integrated with agricultural and animal farmlands. The Polytechnic University has specialisms in petroleum engineering and environmental protection projects and coordinates with the Public Health Protection Department at the Health Center.