Under the auspices of the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR), represented by Deputy Minister Dr. Haidar Abed Dahd, and with the active participation of the Iraqi Engineers’ Syndicate, represented by Syndicate President Mr. Thulfiqar Houshi, “Raban Al Safina Group” organized its first annual “Next Step” forum at the American University of Iraq-Baghdad (AUIB), itself one of the Group’s most prominent institutions. The main theme of the forum was facilitating the “Next Step” into professional life awaiting university fresh graduates, a crucial and perhaps formative step that would have an enduring effect on their life journey. In light of soaring unemployment and the difficulties that fresh graduates face in finding suitable jobs, the forum presented youth with opportunities to familiarize themselves with the companies of “Raban Al Safina Group” and have job interviews with representatives of their Human Resources departments.
“Raban Al Safina Group” operates in various industries, including construction, heavy engineering industries, high-tech, and services; and the Group also includes charitable social service institutions. The Group’s broad strategy emphasizes technology transfer via its partnerships with some of the largest global enterprises, including Germany’s Siemens, and emphasizes training qualified Iraqi cadre, according to the Group’s representative, Mr. Ali Al-Awwadi. The Group boasts pioneering projects in the oil and gas industry, in the traditional and renewable electrical energy industries, in control and communications systems and in information technology, in which total investment exceeds 5 billion dollars, and which employ more than 4 thousand scientific and technical specialized personnel and skilled workers, explained Mr. Al-Awwadi, highlighting the diversity of the Group’s enterprises, which include even food and beverage production and the manufacturing of clothing.
MoHESR has made a great effort to bridge the gap between the output of the higher education sector on one hand and the needs of the business sectors in Iraq on the other, said Deputy Minister Abed Dahd in his speech at the forum, pointing out that the Ministry has established, to this end, industry consultative councils in each university college, and industry consultative higher councils in each university, working in tandem with university councils to include the executives and owners of businesses in both the public and private sectors in the decision-making process of institutions of higher education, with the purpose of modernizing curricula and making them more responsive to the needs of the labor market and the required training qualifications that enable fresh graduates to fill job vacancies. In this context, the Deputy Minister highlighted the amendment of his Ministry’s governing law such that it allows university councils to establish scientific and technological incubators to support startups in the knowledge economy, considering this the cornerstone of transforming universities to “productive” institutions that contribute to building the Iraqi economy. Dr. Abed Dahd lauded AUIB as “an important pioneering project” that MoHESR is keen to support, as it represents “a distinguished quality addition to higher education in Iraq”, citing the University’s “strict scientific standards, solid infrastructure, and distinguished vision, building the capacities of Iraqi youth and producing graduates who meet the requirements of the labor market in all specializations”.