University of Duhok, a symbol of Kurdistan's resilience

The University of Duhok (UoD) is a fast-growing institution which plays a vital role in promoting socioeconomic, cultural, scientific and educational progress in Kurdistan.

UoD was founded on the 31st of October 1992, following a resolution by the Parliament of the Kurdistan Region to address the increasing demand for higher education in the region. The first colleges to be established in the university were the College of Medicine and the College of Agriculture. 

During the first two years, the two embargos imposed by the UN on Iraq and by the Iraqi Central Government on Kurdistan contributed to the slow paced growth of the university and the poor economic conditions in Kurdistan.

After these hardships had passed, the university found itself in a position to steer towards advancement and new growth.

By 2010 the UoD had 17 colleges and a Higher Institute of Planning. After applying a reform in the Kurdistan Region in 2010, the structure of the UoD has changed to a faculty system. Today, the UoD has nine faculties with 18 schools, more than 11,000 undergraduate students and 660 graduate students.

“Here, at the University of Duhok, we offer a wide spectrum of subjects to study through our many faculties and departments,” says University President, Dr. Luqman Dosky.

“We are proud of our ever growing teaching staff from all over the world. We are fortunate to have strong relations with local businessmen and the Kurdistan government,” he adds.

New partnerships, whether local relationships or links to universities abroad, are high on UoD’s agenda.

Vice President of International Relations at the University, Dawood S. Atrushi, believes that when it comes to international relations, UoD is the most successful university in Kurdistan. “We have implemented many good projects almost perfectly. America always says the University of Dohuk is at the top of the list when it comes to cooperation and implementing projects,” he says.

Over the coming years, Mr. Atrushi says UoD will work hard on quality assurance in education.

“We also hope that in the next five years hundreds of our students who are abroad will come back to Kurdistan with a new education, way of thinking, and culture,” he says.

“The challenge here is how to help our older, traditional professors who are educated in Iraq, who have not been abroad. We now have a project where we are sending 37 of our professors to the U.K. for 10 weeks, just to expose them to this environment. The challenges are there, and I also hope we can get on track towards accreditation,” he concludes.