Under the patronage of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Naeem Al-Aboudy, the proceedings of the first conference of the Industrial Advisory Council for Universities were inaugurated at Al-Gilgamesh Private University under the slogan “Advanced Higher Education Meeting the Needs of the Job Market.”
During his speech at the conference, His Excellency the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research emphasized the need to directly link curricula to the needs of industrial institutions and regularly review them to meet all the variables in the global environment. He also stressed the importance of achieving more coordination and cooperation between universities, companies, sector ministries, unions, and relevant organizations through industrial advisory councils in an effective, transparent, and sustainable manner. He highlighted the collaboration between the job market and universities in transferring market requirements to curricula, research programs, and agreeing on training and qualification areas.
He explained that the conference coincides with the completion of the first year of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research’s work and the establishment of qualitative achievements in terms of qualifying specialized scientific personnel, conducting research, and serving the community. He emphasized that supporting the private sector and creating job opportunities through establishing suitable environments based on scientific knowledge is a priority for the ministry in development and growth.
Prof. Dr. Mudhaffar Sadiq Al-Zuhairy, President of Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, participated in the main panel discussion held during the first session, along with the Deputy Minister for Scientific Research Affairs, Dr. Haider Abdul Dahd, and a number of experts and consultants in the state sectors.
In his speech, Al-Zuhairy emphasized the importance of the Industrial Advisory Council in identifying the gap between university outputs and market requirements and creating real job opportunities that align with graduates’ qualifications. He also highlighted the council’s active participation in updating curricula, introducing programs and specialties that keep pace with continuous progress in all life fields, reviewing specialties that no longer meet the needs of the job market, activating scientific research that contributes to finding solutions to real problems faced by state sectors, and actively participating in building capacities that benefit all parties.
In another aspect of his intervention, the university president referred to some experiences related to the importance of partnership between education and the labor market in international universities. He also mentioned a number of success stories at the local level.
It is worth mentioning that Dr. Ahmed Ghanim Waddai, Vice president for scientific affairs participated in the conference proceedings.