On Thursday, June 19, 2025, a joint academic meeting was hosted by Hawler Medical University, bringing together representatives from the Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy at Hawler Medical University, Sulaimani University, and Duhok University.
The meeting was held in the presence of Dr. Khattab Ahmad, Director General of Higher Education and Planning, and Asst. Prof. Karwan Mohammed Amin, Vice President for Student Affairs at Hawler Medical University.
This marked the first official gathering of these colleges following the establishment of the Dentistry and Pharmacy programs across the Kurdistan Region.
The objective of the meeting was to enhance collaboration between the three Colleges of Dentistry, aiming to develop the scientific field of dental education and to create a unified approach to resolving shared challenges. Participants emphasized the importance of adopting fresh and collaborative ideas to address existing issues in the field constructively and efficiently.
During the session, special attention was given to the drafting of a joint memorandum of understanding between the Colleges of Dentistry at Hawler Medical University, Sulaimani University, and Duhok University. The memorandum highlighted that the colleges currently lack the capacity to admit the same large number of students as in previous years, especially considering the steady increase in the number of graduates in the field.
Several critical points were raised by the participating deans and representatives, particularly the unsustainable number of students admitted annually, and the urgency of finding coordinated solutions. There was a strong emphasis on the need to regulate the number of dental graduates, given that the current output is surpassing the sector’s academic and professional capacity.
The meeting concluded with a unanimous agreement among the participating representatives from all three Colleges of Dentistry to submit the joint memorandum to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, calling for collaborative solutions to the outlined challenges.
Iraq, Kurdistan Region,