Zana Ibrahim, PhD
Acting Dean of School of Science and Engineering (SSE)
Introduction
Dr. Zana Ibrahim is the President of the University of Kurdistan Hewlêr since February 2026. He has been with the University since 2017, initially as a lecturer of English at the English Language Centre, then as the Chair of the English Department, and since 2022 as the Dean of the School of Social Sciences. He was the Interim President from April 2025 to February 2026. He holds a PhD in English from the University of Nottingham in the UK, and an M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the USA. He is a former recipient of Fulbright Scholarship sponsored by the US Department of State. Dr. Ibrahim has been actively involved in teaching English to a variety of student populations and levels both in Kurdistan and abroad. Previously, he has taught courses in applied linguistics, teaching methodologies, translation studies and interpreting, academic reading and writing, language acquisition, materials development and syllabus design, and research methods at a number of universities in Kurdistan. His research interests lie mainly in the area of second language acquisition and pedagogy, applied linguistics, second language motivation, complexity theory, and positive affect. He is the co-theorist of the directed motivational currents concept and has co-authored the first publication on the construct.
Education
- - PhD Applied Linguistics, University of Nottingham, UK, 2016
- - MA in TESOL, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA, 2007
- - BA in English Language & Literature, Salahaddin University, Erbil, 2004
Research
Dr. Zana Ibrahim’s research interests are second language motivation, second language learning and pedagogy, second language affect, and English as a lingua franca. Dr. Ibrahim contributed to the theorization of the concept of directed motivational current and has published on the motivational phenomenon. He has also supervised research theses on self-regulated learning, second language emotion, and reflective practices in English teaching.