The third meeting of the U.S.-Iraq Joint Coordination Committee for Cultural and Educational Cooperation took place in Baghdad on December 17, 2012, underscoring the deep and broad collaboration between the Government of the United States and the Government of Iraq in support of a strong Iraqi education system, the preservation of Iraq's rich cultural heritage, and robust exchange programs between the two nations.
Higher Education
The United States and Iraq are working together to build a strong Iraqi higher education system, including linkages with U.S. academic institutions and enhanced collaboration on scientific research.
U.S. and Iraqi efforts helped increase the number of Iraqis studying in the United States by 31 percent in the 2011-2012 academic year. The EducationUSA network provides information about study in the United States to thousands of interested Iraqi students annually through direct advising as well as U.S. university fairs in Iraq.
More than three hundred Iraqi students and scholars have studied or conducted research in the United States through the Fulbright Program, with 30 students (half of whom are women) and 35 faculty participating in the 2012-2013 academic year.
The Iraq University Linkages Program supports seven partnerships between U.S. and Iraqi universities to strengthen curricula, enhance and update teaching methods and technology, and improve career services for students.
The Baghdad-based English Language Institute, established in partnership with the Iraqi government, is expected to open in 2013 and will provide English language instruction to hundreds of Iraqi government scholarship students each year. The U.S. provided $1 million in funding to the institute.
