Overview
Environmental issues are among the most pressing ones facing humanity. The presence of environmental problems in urban areas is associated with numerous factors. Cities in Kurdistan Regional of Iraq (KRI), particularly Erbil, the capital and most populated city in the KRI, are suffering from serious environmental issues and risks in the fields of water, land, noise, and air pollution. Some of these issues are the direct result of the damage and wars imposed over the last several decades. For instance, political instability, socio-economic changes, rapid urbanization, and population growth have led to unsustainable environmental conditions. However, a significant part of these environmental issues has a lot to do with the lack of fundamental infrastructure (e.g., sewerage system and wastewater treatment plant, industrial wastewater treatment plant, municipal solid waste transfer station, solid waste management, medical and hazardous waste management, air pollution monitoring and control, etc.), public environmental awareness, and a shortage of comprehensive environmental research studies done in these areas. For this purpose, in order to prevent, reduce, and treat environmental pollution, which has a direct impact on public and human health, and to promote environmental awareness, the University of Kurdistan Hewlêr (UKH) aims to establish a Centre for Environmental Studies (CES).
Conducting scientific research studies and environmental activities at the CES will result in the production of valuable information, which will be crucial for understanding local and national environmental problems and their consequences. Better data coverage and insight into different environmental issues will also improve the KRI’s ability to manage its local and national resources. The CES will primarily carry out research studies on water, air, and land pollution, and then it will expand its activities towards biodiversity, environmental sustainability, environmental economy, and environmental law and policy.
Vision
- Facilitating the implementation of Master’s and PhD programs in Environmental Engineering within the context of UKH’s research and educational structures
Recruitment of postdoctoral research associates and fellows.
- Collaborating with leading international research institutions and universities on environmental research programmes.
- Staff mobility for research, teaching and training activities abroad.
- Increasing opportunities for professional and career development.
- Improving competences, linked to professional profiles.
- Broader understanding of practices, policies, and systems in education.
- To be nationally and internationally recognized as a premier environmental research centre.
- Acting as a valuable element for solving complicated environmental issues on a local, national, and Middle Eastern scale.
Mission
- Developing scientific knowledge in environmental fields (water, air, and land pollution) and later, biodiversity, environmental sustainability, environmental economics, and environmental law and policy. C
- Conducting environmental courses.
- Supervising (and/or co-supervising) UKH students to successfully complete their environmental-related capstone projects.
- Conducting environmental research projects, workshops, seminars, and national and international conferences.
Building academic staff capacity.
- Collaborating with national scientific organizations to facilitate student exchange programme.
- Providing professional and strategic advice to the KRI authorities and scientific communities on a national level.
Research Fellows
