ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - An Iraqi university is set to launch the first artificial intelligence study programs in the country with the stated aim of transforming the students’ abilities and enabling them to better hone their skills.
“In coordination with the ministry of higher education, we plan to establish specialized artificial intelligence programs in three colleges of our university for the next academic year, which will be the first step of its kind in Iraq and will be rare in the region,” Muhsin Nouri, President of the Baghdad-based University of Technology - Iraq, told Rudaw on Saturday.
Muhsin explained that the program will “strengthen” the degrees of graduates. “Their degrees will include references to their abilities and expertise in artificial intelligence, which will help them to work and innovate in this field in the future,” he said.
Iraq’s higher education ministry commended the initiative and confirmed that the university’s plan has been approved.
The University of Technology is an important foundation of our ministry and the country. We fully support the university in adding this program, and we have approved the plan,” ministry spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi told Rudaw.
In February, Dhiaa al-Jumaili, AI strategy advisor to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, told Rudaw that the Iraqi government is planning to incorporate AI skills in the education system and is set to open three AI clubs to promote much-needed talents in the country.
AI-specialized programs are expanding globally, with over 100 universities ranked in the 2025 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, reflecting the growing demand for skilled professionals in the field.
The University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, Harvard University in the United States, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and the University of Toronto in Canada are among the leading institutions offering specialized programs in artificial intelligence.
Malik Mohammed contributed to this report.
