Iraq Distance Learning Initiative

IIE-SRF Iraq Distance Learning Initiative (October 2015 – January 2023)

Whether they return home or settle abroad, IIE-SRF scholars remain connected to higher education in their home countries. IIE-SRF fellows from Iraq have been especially active in utilizing their skills and expertise to bolster and rebuild the country and its academia, whether upon their return following the IIE-SRF fellowship or from outside Iraq. Our work to support these efforts began during the Iraq Scholar Rescue Project (ISRP) (2007-2014), which, amidst a devastating higher education emergency in Iraq, supported more than 280 professors and researchers to safely resume their work outside the country. Many of these scholars participated in distance learning and bridging activities from their host campuses across the globe.

Upon the project’s conclusion, in 2015 IIE-SRF established the Iraq Distance Learning Initiative (DLI), to continue the distance lecture aspect of ISRP through the Live Lectures Project. Three years later, IIE-SRF added the Joint Courses Project, which supported the development and broadcasting of livestreamed university and training courses at Iraqi universities. Courses were co-organized and jointly delivered by Iraqi scholars outside Iraq and university professors inside the country. Together, these two DLI projects served to support Iraqi scholars in the diaspora to fill curricular and expertise gaps at Iraqi universities, thus strengthening connections between these scholars and university students, professors, and institutions of higher education inside Iraq. The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs (NEA) generously provided funding for IIE-SRF distance learning activities in Iraq from the days of the Iraq Scholar Rescue Project through the conclusion of DLI in 2023.

Live Lectures Project

The Live Lectures project provided opportunities for Iraqi IIE-SRF scholars outside of Iraq to deliver live-streamed guest lectures or series of lectures to students and faculty at Iraqi universities. IIE-SRF built on their experience coordinating live lectures through the Iraq Scholar Rescue Project and worked closely with government and university partners to maintain this service, for which there was still a high need.

In April 2016, the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) formed the MoHESR-IIE Coordination Committee to help identify appropriate course and lecture topics for the Live Lecture Project and to facilitate their scheduling and delivery. Courses and lectures covered a wide range of subjects, from specialized scientific subjects to academic and skill-building topics that could be applied across a wide range of disciplines. The IIE-SRF staff then identified program alumni outside Iraq who held the requisite expertise to deliver the live lectures or courses. The MoHESR-IIE Coordination Committee was consisted of three members: the Director of Laboratories at MoHESR, the Director of the Computer Center of the University of Baghdad, and Dr. Salam Bash Al-Maliki (pictured below), an IIE-SRF alumnus who undertook fellowships at Ohio University from 2009 to 2011 and then returned to Iraq, where he is currently a professor of environmental engineering at Al-Iraqia University. Soon after its inception, the MoHESR-IIE Coordination Committee expanded to facilitate all distance learning projects between MoHESR and foreign institutions.

“Iraqi scholars in the diaspora are an essential asset to our country, and their experiences and knowledge can guide the way for the new generations to bridge the gap between Iraq and the modern international higher education sector. These distance learning activities are such an exciting tool for regaining Iraqi national resources.” Dr. Salam Bash Al-Maliki, Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

During the years 2015-2023, 16 IIE-SRF scholars delivered 203 live lectures to over 11,000 participants at 12 Iraqi universities. Of those, 124 lectures by 10 scholars took place under a 2018 NEA grant.

Joint Courses Project

Undergraduate engineering students at Al-Iraqia University received certificates upon completion of “Digital Signal Processing,” a course co-taught by IIE-SRF scholar Dr. Musaria Karim Mahmood.

The IIE-SRF Joint University Courses Project aimed to fill expertise gaps at participating Iraqi universities and expose them to professors from international academic environments. It supported semester-long university courses that were jointly delivered by IIE-SRF Iraqi scholars outside Iraq and professors inside Iraq, with a focus on newly established and remote universities. The IIE-SRF scholars delivered their courses from their host countries of Canada, Italy, Jordan, Sweden, Turkey, and the U.S.

“Through the DLI courses, students were able to develop close relationships with the Iraqi scholars in the diaspora. These courses served the real needs of the Iraqi academic community with a crystal-clear vision and reinforced the solid position of students in serving their society.” DLI partner, Dr. Mohammed Nasser Hussain Al-Turfi, Al-Iraqia University, Iraq

Skill-building lectures and courses proved particularly pertinent since 2020, when the spread of COVID-19 compelled Iraq’s universities to close their physical campuses and operate remotely. IIE-SRF was able to utilize the skills, experience, and commitment of its Iraqi scholars in the diaspora to support Iraq’s universities to transition to online learning through the delivery of live lectures on e-learning tools and platforms, such as Edmodo, Canvas, and Google Classroom.   

Featured IIE-SRF DLI scholars

Nadia Al-Zahery

Field: Genetics and molecular biology

The first IIE-SRF woman scholar to participate in the DLI’s Joint Courses Project, Dr. Al-Zahery co-delivered two university courses to participants at Baghdad University (BU). She was an IIE-SRF fellow from 2010 to 2012 at Italy’s University of Pavia, where she then took on a role as liaison officer in the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. “I myself learned new things about women’s empowerment while I was preparing my lectures,” she says of a course she recently taught to BU’s College of Science for Women on empowering women in academia. “I was very enthusiastic to deliver the knowledge to the participants.”

Safwan Malasalih

Field: Linguistics and translation

Mr. Malasalih is a scholar of linguistics who undertook IIE-SRF appointments from 2014 to 2016 at U.S-based Ball State University, where he continued to serve as an instructor and English content specialist for another four years. Presently, he is an adjunct professor at Muncie Community Schools. He co-delivered four joint university courses on academic and professional English to participants at Baghdad University and Technical Institute – Kut. Of his experience with the DLI, Mr. Malasalih says, “When I was approached by the IIE-SRF team to join this initiative, I cheered for the idea without hesitation. It gave me the opportunity to connect with my fellow Iraqi professors and serve the Iraqi students again.”

Abdul Ghani Al Baali

Field: Chemical engineering

Dr. Al Baali delivered the most joint courses and live lectures of any IIE-SRF scholar, sharing his expertise on topics including computer simulations, the economics of engineering, and the fundamentals of scientific research. He has delivered many of his lectures from the campus of Jordan’s Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT), where he undertook IIE-SRF fellowships from 2009 to 2011 and is now an associate professor. PSUT has been instrumental to the success of the DLI project, enabling multiple scholars in Jordan to deliver live-streamed lectures from its campus.

Adil Al-Handal

Field: Marine Biology

Dr. Al-Handal was an active participant in the DLI since 2016, offering over 20 live lectures and 11 joint courses on topics related to predatory publishing; writing and publishing academic research; using distance learning platforms; graduation projects; and governance, archiving, and digitization. He is currently a professor of marine biology at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and undertook IIE-SRF fellowships at the University of South Florida (2013) and the University of Gothenburg (2016-2017).