During the conference, from15 to 16, May 2024, which sheds light on international trends and their extent and suitability to the national strategy for education in Iraq (2022-2031) and in cooperation with UNESCO and the European Union, His Excellency, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Naeem Abd Yaser Al-Aboudi inaugurated the work of the international conference on the future of education and vocational and technical training in Iraq.

Dr. Al-Aboudi stressed the progress of modernizing educational curricula and training programs, enhancing students’ skills and continuing cooperation with international organizations to meet the international standards.

His Excellency reviewed that Higher Education its institutions are moving forward with confident steps to keep pace with the changes in knowledge and the movement of technical skills through the development of educational policies and strategies that meet national needs and are in line with international trends in this field.

Dr. Al-Aboudi demonstrated that the modernization of educational curricula and training programs to enhance students’ skills and qualify them for effective engagement in the local and global labor market.

His Excellency continued by saying that Iraqi universities specialized in technical fields have been focusing efforts and intensifying work on developing the technical and vocational education sector, which constitutes the basic infrastructure for developing human talent and capabilities, which represents a pivotal detail in supporting the national economy, which necessitated that the national strategy for education in Iraq include a specific goal, integrating theory and practice and enhancing innovation and creativity through applied education, which is a catalyst for sustainable development.

It is worth to be mentioned that the conference witnessed activities included a large academic presence and representation of Iraqi technical universities, delivering speeches from the Ministry of Education, the Executive Director of the Supreme Committee for Educational Development in the Office of the Prime Minister, the representative of the Kurdistan region, and representatives of the European Union and UNESCO in Iraq, as well as holding sessions that highlighted the sustainable development goals related to technical and vocational training education and the UNESCO training strategy of education and development of the main strategic paths and directions of education and training in Iraq, the digital transformation of education and training in Iraq, and the practices responsible for achieving links with the labor market.