Consulate General of the United States Erbil, Iraq

As Prepared for Delivery: January 28, 2013

Senior Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of the Kurdistan Regional Government Dr. Beriwan Khailani, Iraqi university leaders and educators, international university representatives, and in particular, United States university representatives, and distinguished guests, Good Morning, Sabah al kheir and Bayanitan bash.

It is a great honor for me to address this distinguished group of Iraqi and U.S. higher education leaders, professors and officials at the opening of this important conference on ―modern teaching methodology and excellence in university teaching‖. You are part of a world-wide effort to promote a culture of intellectual openness, learning, and cross-cultural understanding and communication that will produce good citizens who will contribute not only to the long-term betterment and development of their local communities, but to this country and the world.

The U.S. Government is pleased to be a sponsor of the Iraqi Scholar Program and this conference as one of many projects to strengthen the university sector in Iraq and build people-to-people linkages between American and Iraqi scholars and universities. I want to offer special thanks to the KRG Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for its support for this program and work to provide deserving University students and faculty in the Kurdistan Region with the option of studying and working to develop professionally in the United States. I would like also to thank the Institute of International Education (IIE), particularly Executive Director Jim Miller and his colleagues, for organizing this conference and their efforts to increase connections and partnerships between Iraqi and U.S. scholars and universities, as well as and scholars from throughout the Middle East and North Africa region. I would also like to thank the U.S. universities participating in the conference for their support and commitment– and particularly UCLA, Vanderbilt and Michigan State for lending us their talented faculty as presenters and facilitators for the conference; and last, but definitely not least, I am very grateful to all of the scholars, professors and educators from all parts of Iraq for taking time from your busy teaching schedules to attend this symposium.

Valuing education and learning has been a central part of my life. My mother’s parents were immigrants to the United States from Italy, neither of whom had a formal education beyond secondary school or spoke English particularly well. But they saw and believed what I deeply believe – that higher education offers a road to both personal advancement and to bringing society as a whole forward. So my grandparents made sure my mother and her siblings were all able to attend university, with some achieving advanced degrees. My mother went on to a 35 year career as a public school teacher. I saw in her, as I see in so many friends and colleagues working at universities, a tremendous dedication and devotion to helping students learn critical thinking skills, and how to apply those skills to solving problems and contributing to the betterment of their communities and society.

I am keenly aware that the best educators undertake ongoing professional development to keep abreast of the latest teaching methods, tools, and technologies -- they ensure their classrooms are laboratories of learning and discovery. As a third grader – a long, long time ago - I remember participating in what was then an experimental program at Syracuse University in New York state to see if little kids could learn to use a computer. And at that time a computer with less processing power than an iPhone took up an entire room, and was programmed by feeding punched paper tape into it. Like I said, it was a LONG time ago. I worked with university students for three months, a couple of times a week, to write a program that created a horse race. The computer gave each of three horses a name, and randomly generated ascending numbers starting at 0, with the winning ―horse‖ to be the first one to reach 100. (And this was all done on an old-fashioned printer, using typewriter keys, since screens and mice were not even a thought at that time.)

So as we all know, times have seriously changed. When I was last home in the U.S., my 11-year-old son showed me a full environment he had created using free tools on his PC for a favorite game. This is when he is not doing stop-motion animation movies with another app. My 16-year-old daughter does more than half of her high school work purely online -- downloading class assignments, completing homework, sharing presentations, doing video meetings via Skype and other applications. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly young people – even really young ones -- learn and adopt to new technology. Using technology to enhance teaching and learning is the new norm, which is likely to only accelerate in coming years. In my view, the role of educators will become even more important as the world continues an inexorably march towards knowledge and network-based economies. So I feel that as a child I was, as we say, a guinea pig for all that technology has unleashed today. Unfortunately, the horse-race program – a big roll of paper tape – got eaten by a mouse in my Mom’s basement – so you’ll have to take my word for it.

I would like to say a brief word about the U.S. Government’s commitment to supporting closer relationships between the education communities in the United States and in Iraq—especially in higher education. Although the systems of our countries may differ, it is clear to me that we share common goals and an abiding belief that higher education is a key to long-term development and a break with the centralized orthodoxies of the past that have hampered development in Iraq and in the region. To that end, the U.S. will continue to strongly support university linkage programs, including student and faculty exchange programs, academic advising, and actively encourage and recruit students from all over the country to consider pursuing part of their education in the United States.

For example, in October, hundreds of students attended the EducationUSA University Fair here in Erbil, the second such event we’ve sponsored in Iraq. Representatives from more than 20 U.S. universities met and talked face-to-face with students interested in studying in the United States, sharing with them information about the range of programs and academic options available on U.S. campuses. And we are now in discussion with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR) and the Higher Committee for Educational Development (HCED) to hold jointly a similar fair in October 2013.

Our joint efforts have already contributed to a dramatic increase in the number of Iraqi students enrolled in U.S. institutions of higher education, from 616 students in the 2010-2011 academic year to 809 students in 2011-12, a 31 percent increase in just one year. We continue to work closely with all the major scholarship programs in Iraq, including a very successful partnership with the KRG’s Human Capacity Development Program, so that both societies can benefit from more Iraqis studying in the United States.

Also, as of last September, our Mission in Iraq broadened the University Linkages Program that formalizes collaboration between seven Iraqi and seven U.S. universities to update curricula in specific fields, develop on-line courses, exchange faculty and administrators, and establish career centers.

In the coming months and years, the United States looks forward to helping Iraqi students, researchers, and instructors visit and study in the United States. We remain encouraged by the commitment of the Government of Iraq, as well as that of the Kurdistan Regional Government, to supporting this goal with significant resources. Here in Erbil, the Consulate General looks forward this year to being able for the first time to issue student visas, which to date have been handled only at our Embassy in Baghdad. Together, we will continue to increase the academic connections between our two countries—and peoples.

I know you are ready to get back into the classroom, so to speak, and start the conference and workshops. Over the next three days I hope you will have the opportunity to learn about the latest teaching methods and how best to use new technologies and online resources. I also hope you take the opportunity to network, to meet other scholars that are working, like you, to promote a culture of cross-cultural learning. My congratulations to all of you for your efforts, and I wish you a successful conference and look forward to very positive results for Iraq and the United States growing from seeds planted among so many dedicated educators. Thank you.