Baghdad, 28 June 2022 – Iraq's first-ever unified university curriculum on teaching methods has today been launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) for 37 continuing learning centres in the Iraqi universities.

The UNDP Iraq’s Accelerator Lab launched a unified curriculum for teaching methods in Iraq which will be rolled out in 37 universities across the country for specialisations in medical, biological, agricultural and veterinary science, administrative, humanities, applied sciences, engineering, and educational sciences.

A committee of 17 experts in teaching methods from different continuing learning centers across Iraq developed the new curriculum, which underwent rigorous testing and validation phases led by Iraqi professors and other education specialists.

This curriculum will enable the continuing learning centres professionals in the Iraqi universities to adopt the new technological skills, keeping pace with the development in technological systems in the world, while allowing students to learn in a more flexible environment.

“COVID-19 reinforced the importance of technology in education. Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, Iraq saw it as an opportunity to rethink how to best deliver its tertiary education teaching curriculum. The teaching methods curriculum is locally led and demonstrates Iraq’s potential and willingness to embrace technological advances, putting the country on par with other countries’ international institutions,” says Resident Representative of UNDP Iraq, Zena Ali Ahmad.

“We thank our donors, Qatar Fund for Development and the German Council for International Cooperation  for their generous contribution to funding the Accelerator Labs which has been instrumental in developing innovative solutions to some of Iraq’s most pressing challenges,” she added.]

“The development of an advanced curriculum for modern teaching methods was a critical need that we concluded from real-life need assessments for the Iraqi universities. This is to develop modern tools and build the capacities of our faculty enhancing the role of the educational institutions in improving learning and adapting in response to the future employment market needs” says Dr. AlaaAbdulhasan Atiaa on behalf of his excellency the minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Dr. Nabeel Abdulsahib.

He added: “I would like to thank the leaders of this project, in particular the experts of the United Nations Development Programme that worked, and is continuously working as core partner to the ministry on many projects that support our universities, especially the rehabilitation of  the destroyed infrastructure by the terrorist groups”.

Media contact:

Mohammed Al-Bahbahanee, Communications Specialist | mohammed.al-bahbahanee@undp.org | +964770 439 9222