For the purpose of serving the youth, and supported by the German Organization of Caritas, and in collaboration with the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF), the American Corner and the IT Directorate of the University of Duhok held a tech training for undergraduates in their final stages and graduates of different specializations, under the title: “Coding and Digital Marketing for Youth to Increase Employment Opportunities”, on July 9, 2023, at the UOD’s Central Library building.

This training is organized to take place starting from July 9 and is going to last for 3 months, taking 3 days per week. The number of participants is set to be up to 20, males and females.

The main purpose behind holding this training is to teach the trainees the coding skills and programming languages in order to get the knowledge to create applications working on diverse technological systems that fit all devices such as desktops, mobile phones and tablets, through Flutter which is an open-source framework by Google. The trainer, Miss Loreen Sami, which was assigned by the BCF to run this training, mentioned: “We do not aim at getting the trainees familiar with technological aspects only, but at aiding them to get fully prepared for job opportunities and job marketing. They will learn the skills of team work, problem solving and how to fit the business life after graduation.” She also added that the trainees must not only focus on the scientific knowledge given by this training; but they need to continuously follow the lates updates and developments occur in the field of technology because it is a fast-developing industry.

Furthermore, Honer Khidir Dewali, a student at the College of Science’s Geology Department at the UOD and one of the participants of this tech training informed us that this training is considered as a gate that leads to the world of coding. The field of technology and programming, as he said, is highly influential. "It is a rapidly developing field. We, the youth in Duhok and Kurdistan, need to raise our awareness in terms of technology to compete with the changing world around us." He spoke.

On his part, Mr. Mahmood Chachan, the Head of the American Corner-Duhok, stated that this training involves two programs, the first is coding, that just started, and the latter is digital marketing, which will begin in August and will last for one month. "The training will teach the trainees how to code on Dart, which is a programming language, and then, they will be able to link the code they have created with Flutter platform. After 3 months of training, the participants will have the foundational understanding of programming, Dart, and Flutter. And they will be able to pursue other online courses on their own, and, in turn, will have the ability to build applications for cell phones, tablets, and computers. This helps in attracting job opportunities for the youth and enhances the local economy in turn." He clarified.

Finally, the American Corner alongside the BCF, have selected this training's participants on given criteria such as English language fluency, the sustainable willingness to learn and students at their final study year or fresh graduates.

THE UNIVERSITY OF DUHOK

The University of Duhok (UOD) is a public university in the city of Duhok city, which is about 150 km northwest of Erbil (Arbil, Hewlér), the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region (KRI). The city is situated in a beautiful valley surrounded by high mountains. The university campus is a large green area in the city's west side that provides an exciting view of the city and surrounding nature. UOD was founded in October 1992 with only two colleges to meet the region's growing demand for graduate professionals. Today, the UOD has a 19-college with 67 departments, nearly 24000 students, and over 4000 academic and administrative staff. Students thrive in one of the best regional academic communities, studying in programs such as Agriculture, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Architecture, Engineering, Humanities, Linguistics, Basic Education, and Economics as well as Spatial Planning. UOD has strong engagement through its International Relations with many Higher Education institutions and centres of excellence worldwide, such as Purdue University, Indiana University (IU), New York University (NYU), The University of Noter Dame (ND), The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA), BridgeWater State University in the USA, The University of Warsaw - Poland, The University of Glasgow - Scotland, The University of Twente - The Netherlands, Leipzig University, LLC University, University of Oldenburg, The University of Vechta, Europa-Universität Flensburg, TU Dortmund university, THM Giessen University in Germany, The University of Tuscia, The university of Pavia, Sapienza Università di Roma in Italy, The University of Deusto, The University of Barcelona, The University of Granada (UGR) in Spain, Lund University - Sweden, The University of Sussex in the UK, Tampere University - Finland, and so many more. The University of Duhok is an active member of the International Association of Universities (IAU), The UNIMED, the Mediterranean Universities Union, and The Association of Arab Universities (AARU).

UOD Media, July 10, 2023

Fatima Mahmood

Photo Credits: Mohammed AbdulKareem