Germany's academic exchange service this week signed an agreement in Erbil with the University of Salahaddin to establish a German Language Department at the university.

Dr Dorothea Rüland, Secretary General of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD, came to Erbil to make the agreement and gave a keynote address at an academic conference attended by Iraqi and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials.

The theme of the conference, from 29 November to 1 December, was 'resource management in the development of Iraq'. Academics from Kurdistan, other parts of Iraq and Germany came together to discuss how to develop and strengthen several areas, such as IT, sciences, urban planning and energy.

The event was hosted by the University of Salahaddin and sponsored by DAAD and Germany’s Federal Foreign Ministry. Participants included the Iraqi and KRG Ministers of Higher Education, the Governor of Erbil, the German Consul General, and academics from Germany, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

Dr Rüland and the President of Salahaddin University signed an agreement to establish a German language department at the university. There has been growing demand for such a department due to the growing presence of German and Austrian firms in the Kurdistan Region.

DAAD is the largest academic exchange organisation in the world, and promoting the study of the German language is among its primary tasks. The DAAD therefore maintains a global network of instructors, all of whom are native German speakers and are academically qualified to teach the language and German literary studies.

Both DAAD and the University of Salahaddin aim to establish a German language department in which students can receive training and conduct research at international standards. Both parties agree that the academic degrees conferred by the Department should have practical relevance. The new Department will begin accepting students in October 2011. The DAAD is supporting the endeavor by sending German instructors, awarding scholarships, and donating textbooks and other teaching materials.

The Iraqi-German University Network has been active in promoting exchange and educational development in a wide variety of fields. At present the programme is funding the study and research of more than 100 master’s degree students and doctoral candidates from Iraq at universities throughout Germany.

See also the conference programme

For more information about DAAD's German-Iraqi Academic Exchange programme, please visit www.tabadul.de