The Kurdish Globe: More than 1,600 students have been granted the opportunity (April 2012)
The higher education relationship between Kurdish students and UK universities has strengthened since the KRG launched its Human Capacity Development program, with additional UK universities willing to enroll Kurdish students intent on studying in the UK.
Some 14 universities from Britain have visited Kurdistan region in the last couple of weeks. This is the first time a group of eminent foreign universities visit the region, thrilling those who want to continue their studies abroad.
“We have a group of universities coming from UK, some for the first time, and some of them have been investing in a relationship for years with Kurdish universities, helping to train and educate students from the Kurdistan region,” said David Mitchell, managing director at Levant Education Consulting, to The Kurdish Globe.
Mitchell believes the presence of UK universities in Kurdistan is a golden opportunity to further improve educational ties between the two sides and to give students a chance to benefit from quality education in Britain. “The main reason we are here today is to invite potential Kurdish students looking to study in UK.”
“It’s a fabulous success,” said Chris Bowers, British general consul in Kurdistan region, during a press conference at Erbil’s British consulate. “Higher education has been one of our major focuses here. We have a great future ahead in terms of the relationship between Kurdish and British universities, and that is tremendously exciting.”
More than 1,600 students have been granted the opportunity to continue their studies at leading international universities in Europe and the U.S. under the KRG’s Human Capacity Development program, which was launched in 2010 with $100 million. It is administered by the KRG Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.