Recruiting and Retaining Iraqi Government Sponsored Students

1. Recruiting and Retaining Iraqi Government Sponsored Students Presenters: - Dr. Ammar A. Alsahrawi, Deputy Cultural Attaché, Iraqi Cultural Office - Washington DC - Mr. Karwan Zebari, Director of Congressional & Academic Affairs, Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq Representation to the U.S.

2. Agenda • Overview. • Sponsored Scholarship Programs: - Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR). - HCDP Scholarship program. - HCED Scholarship Program. • Recruiting Sponsored Students. • Questions.

3. Overview • Goal: Rebuilding higher education system • 2 ministries of higher education (Baghdad and Erbil) • 3 scholarship programs (2 national programs; 1 regional program); Competitive • Conditional Admission; Graduate studies, STEM focus; ESL funding. • Short-term research opportunities and institutional collaboration

6. Challenges for Students • English language skills. • Unfamiliar with U.S. higher education system. • Access to resources and standardized tests. • Lack of Credit Cards, electricity, and reliable Internet; Broken postal system. • Visa application process and timing.

7. Scholarship Program Challenges • Poor access to Education. • Weakness in teaching and managing staff. • Teaching and learning methods are old, poor. • No matching of the curriculum with the market needs. • Limited funding. • An outdated curriculum. • Non collaboration between the national priorities and education strategies. • Lack of understanding of U.S. higher education system. • Highly centralized and bureaucratic system.

8. Goals • To improve the intake of different sciences on the best international basis. • To benchmark the candidates according to international levels. • To encourage community to improve their skills. • Offer better academic staff for the Iraqi universities for academic progress continuity. • To bridge the gap of the past scientific isolation.

9. Government of Iraq - Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Scholarship Program. • Started in 2007 to send graduate students to U.S. universities for STEM studies. • 2012 - new program announced to award 10,000 scholarships within 5 years for master’s and doctorate degrees. • More than 90% of students require Conditional Admission for ESL and GRE.

10. Current Enrollment of GOI MoHESR Scholarship Students • Total enrollment: 282 • PhD students: 267 • Masters students: 15 • 138 student studying English (1st year). • 144 student studying their academic program.

12. Current Iraqi Scholarship Student Enrollment Missouri S&T Missouri University University of Cincinnati UMKC UMSL Oklahoma State South Carolina University Mississippi State University of Central Florida University of Arkansas - Fayetteville University of Arkansas – Little Rock

13. Applicant Should: • Be of Iraqi nationality. • Not be convicted of any non-political or ethical felony. • Not be more than 40 years old for MSc; 45 years for PhD. • Compete with other applicants from the same province. • Sign a contract with his/her sponsor, pledging a bond (collateral) and a guarantor. • Not have applied or obtained immigrant or refugee status (student and accompanying family); or be nominated or enrolled in higher education studies inside or outside Iraq; or be accepted, expelled, or failed in higher education studies inside or outside Iraq.

14. Program Benefits • PhD - 4 years with possible extension to extra (5th) year • Masters - 2 years with possible extension for 6 months. • 12 months of English language program; maximum course fees of $14,000 • Monthly Stipend • Comprehensive health insurance for the student, spouse and up to 2 children • Academic tuition fees • Research Thesis writing and binding fees • Round Trip travel expenses • Conference attendance

15. Drop Box • Iraqi Cultural Office operates a Drop Box Data Base that includes primary details, scientific background data, transcripts, recommendation letters, & contact information for registered students. • Updated and synchronized with new registrations; over 100 student currently are ready to start the application processing. • Contact ICO to request access to Data Base. • U.S. universities access Data Base, identify possible recruits, and contact students directly.

16. Admission letter Letter Must Include: • Clearly state conditional admission to the English Language program & the Graduate Academic Program. • Conditional requirements student must fulfill – TOEFL test score, GRE test, etc. • Student’s major and sub-speciality. • English Language program – start date (dd,mm,yyyy) and estimated end date. • Academic program – proposed start date and end date. • Estimated duration of academic program. • Estimated cost of English Language program and academic program (with possible % of increase).

17. Program Rules • No overlap between the English language and academic programs. • Up to a month allowed between the end date of the English language program and the start date of the academic program. • Prefer J1, but can accept F1 visas.

18. Funding for Research Research Scholarships Program: Growing program for graduate students at Iraqi Universities to do research abroad that cannot be done in Iraq. PhD students eligible for 6 to 12 months of funding; 3 to 4 months master`s students. Iraqi academic advisor funded for 1-month visit. Post-Doctoral Research program for the Iraqi Faculty: Up to 12 months of funding for university faculty to do research in high priority fields of study; participants required to publish research project for academic review in Iraq.

19. Recruitment & Retention • Iraqi students lack capability to approach international universities because of their long scientific isolation. • Work with the Iraqi Cultural Office and the Drop Box data base. • Wave the application fee (outdated banking system). • Paper application (poor internet coverage). • Offer visa to cover both English language and academic programs. • Cultural and social orientation on arrival to U.S.A. • Socially and scientifically engage spouse/dependents in some activities as volunteers or community grouping for better cultural knowledge and accommodation.

20. Contact Us Iraqi Cultural Office, Washington DC Dr. Ammar Alsahrawi – Deputy Cultural attaché. E-mail: ammaraico@gmail.com Tel: (202) 986-2626, Fax: (202) 986-2291. www.iraqiculture-usa.com The Iraqi Cultural Office works with EducationUSA Iraq and the Education Specialist for Iraq at the U.S. Department of State.

21. HCED Program Benefits • Monthly stipend • Health insurance for student & family. • Tuition, fees, books, etc. • Travel expenses. • 12 months fees for English Language program. • HCED finds employment for students upon return to Iraq.

22. Recruiting Sponsored Students • Offer Conditional Admission • Complete Online Survey www.surveymonkey.com/EducationUSAIraq • EducationUSA Advising Centers in Baghdad and Erbil • Attend EducationUSA University Fairs in Iraq - September 28-30, 2013 in Baghdad - April 2014 in Erbil • U.S. – Iraq Higher Education Conference in Washington DC. • Engage with Lorna, ICO, and KRG Office in DC. • Easy, straight format of application (U Missouri - Columbia, U Cincinnati).

25. Questions?