Academic reconstruction in crisis regions: education for a better future

memperbesar gambar (© dpa) The Federal Foreign Office and the DAAD are supporting academic reconstruction in Afghanistan and in Iraq with special programmes. To build a better future these countries urgently need highly trained young professionals who can take responsibility in the fields of administration, business and research. Education is also key to the development of democratic structures and stability. Let’s look at just one of many examples of cooperation: TU Dortmund’s Faculty of Spatial Planning is putting a great deal of energy and effort into its partnership with four Iraqi higher education institutions.

Ahmed Sabah Al-Edresi and Avan Dalloo are two of the eleven Iraqi students pioneering the first German-Iraqi Bachelor degree course in urban and regional planning and management. This pilot programme at TU Dortmund was initiated as part of the German-Iraqi Strategic Academic Partnership, which was launched in early 2009 with special funding from the Federal Foreign Office. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) runs scholarship programmes for Iraqis and funds research stays as well as five joint projects involving German and Iraqi universities.

The long-term goal of the Strategic Academic Partnership is the establishment of a German-Iraqi University in Iraq, which will then take over the Bachelor degree programme developed at TU Dortmund. The curriculum was designed by TU professors in joint workshops with their colleagues from Iraqi partner institutions in Baghdad, Diyala, Dohuk and Mosul. The content is precisely tailored to the needs of a country engaged in reconstruction. In concrete terms that encompasses conflict resolution strategies, for example, as well as water management and the development of funding strategies.

  memperbesar gambar (© dpa) Education is clearly one of the most important foundations for democratic development and civil reconstruction. That is why the Federal Foreign Office is supporting academic development through its Research and Academic Relations Initiative not just in Iraq but also in other conflict regions and transition countries in the Near and Middle East. In Afghanistan, for example, Ruhr-Universität Bochum is helping several higher education institutions to develop economics and related disciplines. TU Berlin is providing extensive support for informatics training and the development of computer networks. Geologists and geographers at the University of Bonn are developing curricula and organizing advanced training courses for Afghan students and researchers.

Text: Janet Schayan/Societäts-Verlag