This fall, Texas A&M University will be host to the first of many Iraqi students participating in their country's newest scholarship program.
Over the next five years, Iraq intends to send up to 50,000 students abroad to earn their bachelor's, master's and doctorate degrees. The program will begin by sending about 500 students to England and the U.S. this fall to be trained in English before beginning coursework in their academic programs. Students will later be able to study at universities in Canada, Japan, France and Australia.
"The U.S. and Iraqi governments have been working cooperatively to assist the Iraqi people in rebuilding their infrastructure," said Suzanne Droleskey, A&M's executive director of the international programs for students. "Providing an opportunity for talented Iraqi students to study in the U.S. helps to achieve that goal. It also provides a foundation for future cooperative activities between Iraq and the U.S., when these students return to Iraq after graduation to work in education, government and industry."
Twenty two American universities and 21 British universities will participate, including Vanderbilt, Ohio State, the University of Cambridge and Newcastle University. A&M was asked to participate in the program through the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture of Texas A&M, which has been involved in agricultural development projects in Iraq.
"Because of these programs to help the Iraqi people develop sustainable agricultural production as an effort toward encouraging independence and security, Texas A&M is well known in the country," Droleskey said. "As a result, the Borlaug Institute was invited by the Iraqi government to facilitate Texas A&M participation in an educational fair that was the first step of the Iraqi Education Initiative."
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki formally announced the Iraq Education Initiative in Washington Saturday at the nonprofit organization Academy for Educational Development in Washington.
"Today, with the stability and the security back in Iraq, we are moving forward," al-Maliki said.
The Iraqi government is funding the program and will pay for tuition and fees, as well as room and board. About $54 million has been set aside for the first year of the program, with the estimated cost for each student to be about $50,000 their college career. Students may choose their field of study, but are encouraged to go into engineering, education or business, and are expected to return to Iraq after graduating.
Zuhair Humadi, special assistant to the prime minister for educational matters, said that the Iraq Education Initiative will "open up Iraq, which has been isolated for 50 years, and really let it get back to a normal situation."
After prospective students apply to the program, they must apply to the university they wish to attend. Admission into the program does not guarantee acceptance into their chosen university.
Once renowned for its engineering and medical schools, Iraq's educational system has been deteriorating since the Gulf War, due to economic restrictions and war-related violence.
"Instead of armies and war and killing and occupation, we're moving to something more meaningful," Humadi said, "namely, economic development, education and exchanges of students and professors."
The program will help the U.S. develop strong ties to the Middle East, which is critical for political and economic relations.
"This is an important opportunity for Texas A&M to continue the efforts begun by the Borlaug Institute to help in the rebuilding of Iraq," Droleskey said. "It also provides Texas A&M faculty, staff and students with the opportunity to build personal, academic and professional relationships with more students from this region of the world."
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