Baghdad: The Director of the Center for the Revival of Arab Scientific Heritage at the University of Baghdad, Dr. Laith Majeed Hussein, confirmed on Saturday that the University of Baghdad is working to renew its memorandum of understanding with the University of Marburg in Germany. The aim is to strengthen academic and scientific cooperation and expand the exchange of expertise between the two universities. He also noted the establishment of a specialized center dedicated to developing the archaeological sector.
According to Iraqi News Agency, Hussein said that the memorandum of understanding between the University of Baghdad and the University of Marburg was signed on April 13, 2005. Its objective was to promote intercultural dialogue, academic cooperation, and the exchange of ideas in scientific fields, as well as to encourage the movement and exchange of faculty members and students.
The memorandum has been well implemented since its signing, and a large number of professors and students have benefited
from it through training programs, academic exchange, and scientific visits to Germany. The cooperation has particularly included the disciplines of archaeology and ancient history, in addition to other disciplines such as Syriac studies.
The memorandum of understanding had expired, which prompted the University of Baghdad to work on renewing it. A visit to Germany took place in 2019 to discuss reactivating the agreement and setting new terms and conditions for cooperation. The German side at that time expressed welcome and readiness to renew it.
Baghdad University, with the support of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the President of the University, Alaa Abdul Hussein, is currently working on reactivating the memorandum and linking its outputs to modern academic and scientific cooperation programs.
The Erasmus program, funded by the European Union, represents an important opportunity to enhance cooperation between Iraqi and European universities, particularly in the areas of ed
ucation, training, and developing the skills of students and professors. There is interest from German universities in cooperating with the Iraqi side within the program.
The proposed cooperation could include sending students and professors to European universities, implementing joint training programs and scientific projects, as well as the possibility of implementing field archaeological projects, such as excavation and archaeological survey work, depending on the nature of the project and the size of the funding allocated to it.
The partnership within the Erasmus program is not limited to the benefit of European universities but also achieves a direct benefit for Iraqi universities, through the development of academic staff and the provision of training and scientific exchange opportunities, without imposing significant financial burdens on Iraqi universities participating in program-funded projects.
The College of Arts at the University of Baghdad is also working on establishing a specialized center c
oncerned with developing the archaeological sector. The center will be affiliated with the university and based in the College of Arts, and will work to provide development programs for professors and students, with the possibility of sending them to German universities or other universities to obtain training opportunities and scientific grants.
The center is now ready logistically, and most of the procedures related to it have been completed. Some administrative and procedural challenges faced the project, but cooperation between the university, the ministry, and the concerned authorities helped to overcome them.
Regarding archaeological cooperation, Iraq is witnessing increasing openness to international cooperation in the field of archaeology, particularly with German universities and institutions. Furthermore, foreign missions are showing interest in returning to work at Iraqi archaeological sites, which will contribute to the development of these sites and the training of Iraqi students and researcher
s.
The Department of Archaeology at the College of Arts, University of Baghdad, previously had archaeological sites for student field training. Students used to visit excavation sites weekly; however, this activity ceased after 2003 following the destruction of the Sippar site in Yusufiyah, which was used for student training at that time.
The importance of reactivating field training for students and strengthening partnerships with international archaeological institutions and missions is emphasized, in order to contribute to developing Iraqi expertise and preserving the country’s cultural heritage.