PROJECT SUMMARY

The TIGRIS Project will aim to work on three different levels in order to support the modernisation, accessibility, and internationalisation of higher education in Kurdistan. At an institutional level, the project will capitalise upon internationalisation as a process with the potential to further develop Kurdish HEIs. In this way, the project will seek to contribute to the modernisation of the partner universities involved within the Kurdistan region by strengthening management structures and services for international relations, and building advanced strategic policies related to the internationalisation of education, research, mobility and student services which will bring the Kurdish partner HEIS more in line with the EHEA.

At national level, the project supports the MHESR’s objective to modernise its Higher Education system and to align it more concretely with European models of practice and the Bologna process. This includes introducing a flexible curriculum design, shifting from a teacher-centred to a student-centred approach, and developing Bachelor and Master programmes that both prepare students for the labour market and lay the foundations for the recognition of studies conducted abroad.

At an international level, it is hoped that aliging the Kurdish Higher Education system with the EHEA, and developing the participating universities such that they are able to devise and implement internationalisation strategies and modernise the services on offer as well as their capacity and capabilites to promote international relations, will both facilitate further academic international cooperation with the Kurdistan region and similarly position Kurdish HEIs more successfully in regional and global rankings. Having attained international standards of education, or at the very least comparable to those found in Europe, it is expected that participation in the project will enable the Kurdish HEIs to increase their visibility and attractiveness within the EHEA, and to increase their academic and scientific cooperation with HEIs and research institutes both within Europe and worldwide. 

TIGRIS COLLABORATIVE PARTNERS 

European Union Partners:

• Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany (Coordinator)
• Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
• Masarykova Univerzita, Czech Republic
• Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
• Global Impact Institute Prague, Czech Republic

Kurdish Partners:

• Kurdistan Institution of Strategic Studies and Scientific Research (KISSR), Kurdistan
• University of Sulaimani, Kurdistan
• Sulaimani Polytechnic University, Kurdistan
• University of Raparin, Rania & Qaladze, Kurdistan
• Halabja University, Kurdistan
• Charmo University, Kurdistan
• Duhok Polytechnic University, Kurdistan
• Erbil Polytechnic University, Kurdistan
• Salahaddin University – Erbil, Kurdistan
• Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Kurdistan

Associate Partners:

• COIMBRA Group, Belgium
• Grupo Compostela de Universidades, Spain

PROJECT ACTIVITY TIMELINE

• • TIGRIS Kick-Off Meeting, December 9-10, 2017 at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany

   

  • TIGRIS Study Visits: March 4-17, 2018 to Masaryk University, Czech Republic, Global Impact Institute, Czech Republic, Rijksuniverseteit Groningen, The Netherlands & Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

   

  • TIGRIS Project Symposium, May 14, 2018 at Kurdistan Institution for Strategic Studies and Scientific Research (KISSR), Suleimani
  • TIGRIS Webinar on Financial and Administrative Management of the TIGRIS Project, August 23, 2018

   

  • TIGRIS Work Package 1 Concluding Workshop, September 24-26, 2018 at the University of Suleimani

   

  • TIGRIS Annual Dissemination Conference, September 27, 2018 at Salahuddin University, Erbil
  • TIGRIS Workshop on The Implementation of ECTS at Kurdish Higher Education Institutions, December 11-13,

  2018 at the University of Raparin, Rania

   

  • TIGRIS Workshop on Project Writing, International Marketing & the Use of Management Information Systems for Smart Administration of Internationalisation, February 4-6, 2019 at Charmo University, Suleimani

   

  • TIGRIS Dual-Workshop on the Development of Strategies for Internationalisation, Mobility and Research Cooperation & Curricular Reforms for Internationalisation and the International Classroom, February 19-21, 2019 at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany

   

  • TIGRIS Annual Dissemination Conference, 6th October 2019, at the Ramada Hotel, Sulaymaniyah, and hosted by the Kurdistan Institution for Strategic Studies and Scientific Research.

   

  • Workshop on Strategy Development, Change Management and Internationalisation of Doctoral Training & TIGRIS Consortium Meeting, 24th – 26th June 2019, at Masaryk University, Czech Republic.

   

  • 2nd TIGRIS Project Symposium, 13th June 2019, at Duhok Polytechnic University.