After returning from his visit to Iraq, DAAD President Professor Joybrato Mukherjee talks in our interview about the situation there, hopeful scholarship holders and the prospects for German-Iraqi exchange.

Professor Mukherjee, you recently returned from Iraq. Which lasting impressions did the trip make on you?

I visited both central Iraq and the autonomous Kurdistan Region in the north and found there to be considerable interest in Germany in both parts of the country. There is great willingness to advance international academic exchange, though this will obviously require certain security standards to be met. Daily life in the Kurdistan Region is far more peaceful than in central Iraq, yet even in Baghdad I was able to conduct political talks and, during a reception at the German Embassy, meet numerous people with direct ties to Germany: alumni, but also representatives of various universities in central Iraq. The sustained interest in Germany left a lasting impression on me. Higher education institutions in the Kurdistan Region are even keen to align their degree courses to a large extent with the European Bologna Process. This also emerged during my talks with the Regional Government’s Higher Education Minister Aram Mohammad Qadir and his advisors.

What support can the DAAD provide in this context?

The European Union will of course have to decide who takes part in the Bologna Process and under which conditions; however, the DAAD can among other things initiate expert talks between the EU and the Kurdistan Region. And we can provide support by using the expertise we have gained in the Bologna Process to advise for example on questions relating to the requirements for degree courses and the design of curricula. In addition, we will be visited in Germany in the near future by representatives of Kurdish universities and of the ministry responsible. The Bologna Process will no doubt also be a topic on this occasion.

 

In Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, you also met with 30 scholarship holders of the In-Country Scholarship Programme “Prospects for Peace through Education in Iraq”, which the DAAD rolled out together with the GIZ in November 2021.

These are very impressive young people who come from various parts of Iraq, but also from Syria. Many have had traumatic experiences as a result of the terror and conflicts of recent years; some of the scholarship holders still live with their families in refugee camps not far from Erbil. We provide these young people from very different backgrounds with four years of funding, enabling them to complete a full degree course. They are extremely motivated to work in positions upon graduation that will contribute to stability in Iraq and the region.

How much hope is there of greater stability as far as academic exchange is concerned?

The fact that there are already many areas in which exchange between Iraqi and German higher education institutions has been stepped up of late is a positive sign. Archaeology and ancient studies are for example disciplines in which far-reaching contacts have been forged and new projects jointly developed. Furthermore, the Iraqi government has initiated a programme to foster academic exchange between Iraq and other countries. There are certainly some hopeful signs, in other words, even if security aspects obviously still have to be kept in mind in central Iraq.

The DAAD maintains an information point (IP) in Erbil. What is its purpose?

Like all the DAAD’s information points, the IP in Erbil provides information about our scholarship programmes, as well as about any questions relating to studies and the research landscape in Germany. In cooperation with the regional office we opened in the Jordanian capital Amman two years ago, we obtain valuable insights into developments in Iraq as a whole and the Kurdistan Region in particular, which enables us to help German students and academics find answers to numerous questions. The heads of the Amman regional office and information point in Erbil liaise closely with one another and serve as outstanding points of personal contact in the region.

Interview: Johannes Göbel (14 June 2023)