In the framework of the APPRAIS project, the 8 public universities from the Kurdistan region of Iraq, in agreement with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in KRG, agreed on developing a dedicated software for Quality Assurance, to allow a more accurate and professional management of the services delivered by the university Quality Assurance Directorates, with a particular focus on research activities, services for students and the university social role.
The APPRAIS Software – developed in its alfa-version for the project – will offer different solutions to provide researchers, administrators and evaluators with the tools to monitor quality of results research, increase its visibility, as well to evaluate and ensure quality of third mission activities and of students’ services.
Once the software was released, 24 university staff members from the 8 Kurdish HEIs participated in a two-days training (July 24-25, 2023) on the use of the software hosted by Salaheddin University-Erbil. . The training was provided by Awrosoft, the Kurdish company which has produced the software, and aimed to offer a comprehensive guidance and support to know how to use the tool and explore all the available features.. The training program was conducted with a structured approach, to ensure participants receive both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. The second day was indeed focused on practical application and hands-on activities using the system. Participants had the opportunity to explore the system, perform tasks, and gain practical experience on daily QA tasks provided by the tool.
The training was needed to get acquainted with all the software features, and to guarantee Kurdish universities to fully benefit from the instrument. Those staff members will be indeed the focal points in each institution to teach others in the Quality Assurance Directorate on how to use the APPRAIS software.
The 8 Kurdish universities will pilot the software during the lifetime of the project and will continue to use it after the project ends. Potentially, its use can be later enlarged to other universities in the Kurdistan region of Iraq willing to widen the scope of their quality assurance procedures, guided by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research KRG.
This is the first time that – in the context of a European funded project – universities will use a common and unique solution for managing QA in these three very important dimensions of the university life and governance.
More information can be found in the training Agenda available here.
Stay tuned to know more on the benefits and results generated by the APPRAIS software in Kurdish universities!
