Representatives from the University of Central Florida, University of Oklahoma and the University of Exeter from the UK presented case studies of education reform and rehabilitation projects they had undertaken in Iraq.

Senior Education Specialist for UNESCO, Habib Hajjar, said that the main choices for Iraq were a bigger role for the private sector in the provision of education services, in developing the curriculum (which is an active project between UNESCO and the Ministry of Education) as well as rebuilding the physical infrastructure. Other highlights of UNESCO’s work in Iraq, he said, includes a partnership with UNICEF for poverty reduction through an Accelerated Learning Programme, and other planned interventions, mainly to support ICT in education at the pre-university level.

After security delays, precipitated by the previous evening's bomb attack on Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi and his delegation in Baghdad, IDP Director John Glassey welcomed the delegates, sponsors and distinguished guests. He thanked the UAE government as well as the Iraqi Embassy to the UAE for their support in all the elements necessary to make the conference a success.

Technology Partners CEO Omar Barzanji shared some personal experiences as an Iraqi post-graduate at the University of California in the 1980s about positive American perceptions of Iraq. He stressed his gratitude for the strong participation at the conference of participating companies MTC Atheer, Microsoft, Oracle, Canon, Brother, Universal Knowledge Solutions, Primus, Gateway Gulf, Quavant and ED Co (a supplier of testing and simulation equipment from South Korea) for their commitment to helping the Iraqi government, and in developing the strategies necessary to succeed in the ICT space.

Certainly Iraq needs everything but the meeting in Sharjah offered all the right ingredients and skills to bring together the strategies and technologies that the country requires.

Minister for Communications Mohamed Tawfiq Allawi said that the damage to Iraq's communications infrastructure was very great in previous years, but the progress in reconstruction since 2003 has been accelerating. Expressing his gratitude for the achievements of previous ministers Allawi gave a description of the existing ICT infrastructure in Iraq. "The government has decided to opt for a fibre optic network on a national scale and this to date is 50% implemented by Nortel," he said. "This is designed on seven loops including the first by Marconi which this was completed by the end of 2005. Now tenders are progressing for the other regions."

The Minister detailed Iraq's two current LAN gateways, with one located towards Jordan and the other toward Kuwait. "Others are planned for the area toward Turkey, Syria and Iran," he said. A contract is already in place for Iraq's connection to the Falcon submarine cable, Iraq's pipe to the world wide web, and there are plans for two other backup connections to international cables.

For microwave connection, one grant is in place with funding from Japan and another from the World Bank and other donors.

EV-DO is a wireless broadband option that can provide download speeds up to 2.4 Mbps and will be available in many Iraqi cities. Actually, evolved from a more established standard called 1xRTT or single carrier Radio Transmission Technology, it is in a family of wireless data services for cellular phone systems called CDMA 2000. CDMA stands for Code Division Multiple Access, the mobile technology that is popular in the US.

The idea behind CDMA 2000 is that a mobile phone service that is already digital can also deliver Internet data packets using the same transmitters and cell towers. That enables Internet services for mobile phones but also stand-alone wireless Internet service for laptop computers.

In GSM mobile, there are approximately 8 million subscribers in Iraq currently, from the three providers MTN, Atheer Telecom and AsiaCell, This achievement has been made in the last two years mainly, said the Minister. These three regional mobile contracts had been extended recently until 31 March 2007 and the Minister announced that a resolution passed last week in association with all the concerned agencies in Iraq calls for a period of consultation and investigation to present different options for how to deal with mobile lines in the next time period. The results will be announced as soon as possible.

"In conclusion, by our strategic actions we are already on the path of allowing a larger role for the private sector," said Allawi.

Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research HE Abed Theyab said that one of his major interests is in establishing e-learning platforms for Iraq. "This is because of the kidnapping of professors and killings," he said, and the need to reach out to the regions of Iraq. "We badly need to build an e-learning platform and in particular we will be adopting the Web City technology and other web technologies for all universities and departments."

The government has already started an e-gate for the Ministry of Higher Education, which to date is mainly used for job opportunities and submissions. The Minister said he is also interested in implementing e-enrolment for education establishments, a project that will see the light by September 2007. Other e-platforms are also in progress that will require inputs from many international companies and the vision is to completely automate most of the processes of the higher education system.

In the education sector there is also a dire need for laboratory and testing equipment, software and hardware, and there are ongoing problems with skills shortages and equipment shortages derived either from lootings or the need to update old equipment. "We are improving the quality in all universities, working more and more through international accreditation programmes," said Minister Theyab. A comprehensive ICDL (International Computer Driving Licence) and English language programme has already been started.

"Our Ministry is particularly suited to this mission. We have hope and determination. We also have the ability to implement our plans," he said. Most has set clear guidelines to develop scientific infrastructure and research, he said. The activities include a wide spectrum of activities to create a strong scientific environment, further opening the horizon for future new centres of regional or international research. "This is not a luxury for Iraq. It is a necessity," he said

Most is also the agency in government charging with improving the whole civil service infrastructure, he said. This was a significant employer and project under the previous government of Saddam Hussein as well as source of great national pride and technological advances in the 1970s and 1980s.

Background to Iraq’s excellence in science

A recent survey from the Arab Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF) and the Cooperative Monitoring Center (CMC) at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) was conducted to identify, contact, and engage members of the Iraqi science community. It identified project priorities in the areas of health, water resources, environment, engineering, energy, agriculture, veterinary & livestock, biotechnology & genetics, communications, applied material science, basic science and IT.

Meanwhile, any effort to engage and develop the Iraqi scientific community must recognise a number of problems associated with the long-term isolation of Iraqi science. Among these are the following: generational education gaps; severe stress in the scientific community; lack of infrastructure and jobs; scientists are leaving the country; and an element of confusion about the role of new organisations promoting science and technology in Iraq.

On the other hand, the long isolation has also produced a highly innovative, practical technical community, with skills that could be of great value to the rebuilding process. The following points should be kept in mind. The Iraqis have significant previous experience in rebuilding; Iraqi scientists have previous experience in planning; Iraqi innovation can contribute to international science and Iraq could be a place to market high technology products in the very near future.

Within two decades of independence (in 1921), the Kingdom of Iraq established colleges of higher education in law, art, engineering, and medicine. By the early 1950s, university education centred on the University of Baghdad, which came to encompass twelve colleges; various ministries set up their own research institutes. During this time a considerable number of degree holders began to return to Iraq from England, France, Egypt, Lebanon and the US, with specialisations in basic sciences, engineering, medicine and economics. In the early 1960s provincial universities were established, and graduate programmes were started in almost all of the Iraqi universities.

In the late 1970s, thousands of scientists, engineers, technicians, and other professionals in various disciplines, obtained scholarships and fellowships for degrees or intensive training in most of the advanced sciences, technologies, and informatics. In addition, professional societies, unions, and regional associations emerged, and many UN projects in science and technology were undertaken.

At the beginning of the 1980s, a new body called the Scientific Research Council was formed and attached to the Prime Minister’s Office. It was strongly supported, and contained most of the scientific centres, in addition to the well-equipped scientific documentation centre, with its notable infrastructure and facilities. The SRC was the organising body, setting up the science and technology strategy and policies, and coordinating the five-year National Research plans. The SRC also established the powerful National Computer Centre, devoted to research, technology, and training. The Iran-Iraq War, which lasted eight years (1980-1988), was costly to the country in both lives and resources. The financial losses have been estimated at US$100 billion. Most of the basic and applied scientific activities were merged with the military logistics and services. This included the weapons programmes, and all fields of science, technology, and informatics.

At the end of the 1980s, the decline in Iraq reached its peak, and by the beginning of the first Gulf War, the Scientific Research Council was liquidated. The nuclear reactor and the Nuclear Research Centre were destroyed in the war. Along with the advanced facilities and infrastructure of the Military Industrial Commission, R & D Centres and other technological infrastructure were also severely damaged. This had direct implications on the research activities in Iraq. During and after the first Gulf War and during the 1990s, Iraq lost a huge number of its scientists, technologists, and engineers. In the wake of the exodus, the authorities recognised the importance of the contributions of scientists to the civilian sector, as well as the government sector.

Therefore, after 2000, new laws were issued to allow Iraqi scientists and researchers to act as consultants and carry out applied research for the benefit of public companies and ministries activities. The contributions of the civilian scientists enhanced the efficiency of Iraqi industry and increased its productivity. For example, the Engineering Department at the University of Baghdad had 12 faculty members in 1990. All were PhD graduates of reputable international universities. During the sanctions, the number of staff dropped to four. Another example can be found in the Mathematics Department at Al-Mustabseriah University. Before the first Gulf War there were 20 PhD staff members. This number dropped to eight in 2003 and further decreased to six afterwards. Examples of this nature can be found across the country.

The second Gulf War was accompanied by the destruction of a number of science and technology infrastructures in the country, followed by fires, looting, and demolition of equipment, libraries, museums, and buildings etc. Up to 2003, this sector had truly collapsed almost to the zero line.

After being isolated from the world for the last 13 years, Iraq is now eager to bring in new technologies and training. In a country with a population of 27 million, there is ample space for adaptation of new technologies and marketing activities. It is time for international companies to provide contributions that would lead to adaptation of their technologies and further widen their international market share.

Minister Fahmi said that there are currently 164 specific research programmes in Iraq that are divided into different areas of national importance such as IT, food & agriculture technology, water treatment, petrochemical industries, engineering, hazardous environments (this includes nuclear) materials science, as well as economic systems and communications. There are a further 53 projects of a more long-term timescale and some of these are in the ICT field. "All projects have a common element of high-technology, as well as an element of training and capacity generation," he added.

He said there are six strategic objectives that have been identified by government for the science and technology space: reconstruction & rehabilitation, technology transfer, human resource development, applied science to solve specific problems, growing international relations, and exploring future options and partnerships.

US-Iraq liaison at the centre of funding decisions

Bob Fonow, Senior Consultant at the Iraq Reconstruction Management Office, attached to the Iraqi Ministry of Communications, provided an insight into the role of a consultant working on ICT and training programmes.

He said that Iraq already has a large data centre capability that is not widely known in the outside world. The country already has most of the elements of an advanced ICT infrastructure, which is one of the most developed in the Middle East, he said.

“The key is education and we recognise also that oil is making a significant contribution to the national income, especially going into the future,” Fonow said. He said that Iraq was a society with a strong interest in higher education and according to the estimate of his office, there is a requirement to train 200,000 to 300,000 IT specialists in the next five years.

“But we are starting from a point where 85% of the higher education facilities in Iraq were looted,” he said. “Window frames and window panes were taken from schools. Toilets, plumbing and copper wiring was ripped out of the walls.”

In one word, Cross said that the ICT infrastructure was still fragmented. But the desire is very much there to educate the Iraqi people, at least as high as anywhere else in the world.

Kurdistan takes a head start in reconstruction

HE Dr Dilshad Abdul-Rahman, Minister of Education in the Kurdistan Regional Government said the strong attendance at the meeting was a sign that Iraq has a lot of backing from the private sector, and a sign of recovery. Kurdistan suffered tremendously under the previous regime, although it could be said that because of its partial division from Iraq - above the 36th parallel after 1991 - the region has a ten year head start on the rest of Iraq in the reconstruction process. All recent reports coming out of Iraq (BI-ME, 29/06/06) show that Kurdistan, along with certain parts of Southern Iraq, has been enjoying the more secure and peaceful environment for doing business.

"Our future depends on getting it right," said Rahman. "Education is the foundation of society and we are investing heavily in the child's early education. We are planning to set national standards for primary school education, for the first time, in the near future. This new primary education policy will raise the standards."

He said the KRG is also busy implementing a new policy for examination systems. And as it has been isolated from the rest of the world for the last 90 years, Kurdistan intends to reconnect with the rest of the world with the rest of the world, through the use of ICT and the English language. Other pressing issues for schools in Kurdistan include the need for investment in school building programmes. There are over 100,000 displaced people in Iraq according to Iraqi Red Crescent figures. Another large number of Iraqis are being housed, but they are being accommodated with family members or in schools, and they are scattered in many different parts of Iraq.

"There is a need to coordinate with Iraqi Ministries and other experts," said Rahman. There is a national strategic plan for education emerging and other elements of life in Iraqi Kurdistan are changing dramatically, symbolised by the rising usage of Internet cafes and young people accessing songs, chatting and sending pictures across the world, he said. But there are big discrepancies about how the Internet is used in different parts of the world and Rahman said he would like to be able to equip every classroom with an Internet connection.

In another move designed to connect with the world, the Kurdish region will be using the English language in all medical, engineering and science colleges, he said. The Ministry is also looking at twinning with other international education institutes and with Iraq's MOE to improve accreditation and teaching processes.

Salih said that two new centres had already been established by the KRG, one for computing and English and another looking at research and its role in society. "We have so many goals, the question is how to achieve those goals," he said, welcoming the input and future negotiations with those organisations gathered for the talks.

Rasheda Zaher-Drahey, International Relations Manager at the Ministry of Education in the KRG provided an outline of the constraints and challenges for the education sector. Kurdistan, she said, is a culturally diverse region of five million people, with 1.2 million children currently in the education system. With a land area of 40,000 square kilometres, Kurdistan is similar in size, as well as in its landscape to Switzerland, she said.

The current priorities for the education sector in Kurdistan, she said, are the setting up of a teacher training centre and consultancy for reforming the examination system. The Education Ministry is currently the largest employer in the region, employing 55,000 administrative staff and 73,000 teachers, all in an environment which stresses national heritage and cultural values. She added that the returning diaspora was growing the local population, which was also putting pressures on the education system.

She said that 3,050 primary and secondary schools were in immediate need of renovation, and there is another shortfall of 1,770 primary schools and 500 secondary schools. The number of women returning to the workplace, was also increasing the demand for places. She added that the Ministry’s printing press needed updating and because this has capacity for 18 million books over a nine-month period, there was a requirement for 50 million textbooks in Kurdistan before the start of the next academic year.

Apart from these huge funding requirements, amongst the other aspects of the reform process, the English language has been chosen as the main focus of the curriculum reforms. She added that an important agreement was signed in January 2007 for support from the British Council.

Increasing penetration of services all over the new Iraq

Obay Abdul Hussain Ataie, General Director of ITPC (Iraq Telecommunications and Postal Commission) within the Ministry of Communications updated the meeting on several projects that were first presented to international companies several months ago.

He said the ITPC project to create Iraq’s optical fibre backbone was already finished in terms of the civil works and for the microwave transmission system, funded by the World Bank, all the necessary equipment is in Iraq for the latest new sites in the South and North.

The overall microwave backbone project addresses the rehabilitation and upgrading of three of the five microwave routes included in ITPC’s rehabilitation programme for 2004-2007. The three digital microwave routes are: (i) Baghdad-Mosul (North East Route), (ii) Baghdad-Trabil (West Route) and (iii) Baghdad-Tamara-Basra. (South Tigris or South East Route). The routes are providing voice and data connectivity for the key cities: Baghdad, Baquba, Kirkuk, Erbil, Mosul, Sulaimaniya, Duhok, Ramadi, Kut, Amara, and Basra. These routes interface with other elements of the national telecommunications system (local plant, switching, other microwave routes and fibre optics transmission routes) at the Digital Distribution Frame (DDF) level. The routes will be supported by a Network Management System (NMS) connected to the management systems of the other elements just mentioned.

Ataie also confirmed Iraq’s link to the FLAG cable system with a big capacity and new fibre optic connections to Kuwait, and another link to Iran through the South which has been started. Existing fibre optic connections to Saudi Arabia and Jordan will see their capacities doubled. FLAG’s global cable network already spans the globe and the company has an acknowledged reputation for a centralised end-to-end network management, underpinned by strong service support. FLAG offers customers East and West routing, meaning traffic can be switched at any time to avoid a cable cut or natural disaster. FALCON is planning to provide additional resilience across the major route from Egypt to Hong Kong and particularly around the Middle East.

But he also detailed the difficulties faced by telecom operators with the current violence. The Ramadi telephone exchange (in Anbar Province in the Southwest point of Iraq’s Sunni triangle) has been completely destroyed. “Until now we have had no chance to rebuild the building,” said Ataie.

He said there is practically no way of introducing communications in the Anbar Province currently, although some businesses are using Thuraya satellite communications. Even some GSM stations had been destroyed. But outside Anbar, security issues for Iraq were today only related to Baghdad, he said. “From the South up to Basra is safe. And Kurdistan is very safe and work there is going on,” said Ataie. He urged all companies to come and see the progress in Iraq in the telecommunications sphere for themselves. “We cannot build our country on emails. Come and see the work on the ground,” he said.

Dr Mahmood K Sharief, Acting National Chief Information Officer in the Iraq Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) said gatherings like the Sharjah meeting served to integrate the national and international efforts in Iraq, and this is vital for the future.

MoSt plays an invaluable role on the future of Iraq since the future and capability of a nation depends on its science and technology, he said. In fiscal year 2007 there are research plans in ten categories of work. When it was first established, the vision was for complete connectivity of all ministries and sites with the latest technology. This ambition has since grown dramatically.

Since April 2004, when Iraq’s e-government project was first incubated, the focus has shifted from government-to-government relationships, to expand it to citizens and businesses. “Full e-governance is the target,” said Sharief, “and this is being supported by a lot of people in the administration and friends such as the [USAID’s] ELMO project.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded a contract to BearingPoint to help set up USAID’s workforce programme, Enabling Labour Mobility (ELMO), in Iraq. The ELMO project works with local officials to lower barriers to labour mobility in Iraq. The programme is designed to ease the financial burdens on small and midsize enterprises by promoting flexible, diverse forms of labour relations and agreements.

ELMO also aims to unify data collection and upgrade labour authorities’ capacity to more effectively monitor compliance of workforce rules and policies.

In July 2004 MoST signed a contract with Italy for Internet training. This work is still going on and the MoU is signed on an annual basis, said Sharief. This is helping to connect the different networks of Iraq and the plan is to create ‘smart’ people who will lead Iraq in the future, he said. The Ministry is also holding regular meetings of CIOs of all the Iraqi ministries, working through BearingPoint. This is a new concept for the Middle East, and it is working well, he said, adding that the capacity building programme of USAID is ongoing.

MoST is also developing a free open software structure under the International Open Source Network of the UNDP known as FOSS in the Internet server farm or government data centre, which covers training, basic IT and computer literacy and all aspects of system development.

“In the period 2005 to 2006 a lot of technologies and nodes have been developed in Baghdad and not all are in use currently,” said Sharief.

The Sharjah meeting was also used to launch a new cooperation between the Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Communcations to more fully utilise all 35 data centres that are currently operated by the government. “On the local MoST level there is the possibility of fully digitising the Ministry and in the future this will lead to the creation of a Science Park in Baghdad, he said.

This mission of a fully connected city is at the moment being incubated within government, but in the future the private sector is expected to be much more involved, and it will be cloned on the outside. A full open bid for digitisation of the MoST is expected soon.

“On the national level, a video conferencing grid is already being introduced that will help to promote e-learning,” said Sharief. Also on the national level, a new IT Academy will be established, another project will develop the WiMAX spectrum, new technology is being introduced to reduce Internet access tariffs, and in the long term investments will be brought in to establish a Smart Village and Internet City in Baghdad, he said.

Showing plans for the nodes of the information superhighway running through the Baghdad, Sharief said: “At the end of the day I am sure this will happen. It is a commitment of the Ministry and it is supported by the strengthening of IPR laws, which have been in progress for the last two years, and which is completed and will be signed by the Minister soon.

“We are now well placed to explore the strategic alliances with international companies. We don’t want to continue working on the same spot,” he said.

There is an old Middle East saying that goes: ‘Books are written in Egypt, printed in Lebanon and read in Iraq.’ It seems only a question of time before Iraq breaks out of its current troubles to resume its status as a regional centre of learning and technology.