OSU welcomes Iraqi professors

Monday, October 24, 2011

 

  

OSU welcomes Iraqi professors

Three faculty members from Basrah University in Iraq are at OSU through Thursday to explore American curriculum and western teaching styles. Several more faculty from BU will be working closely with OSU faculty over the next three years to develop student-centered and interactive teaching strategies. For full details, see below.

Three faculty members from Basrah University in Iraq arrived in Oklahoma on Oct. 16 to explore Oklahoma State University and familiarize themselves with American curriculum and western teaching styles. They will be staying through Oct. 27.

The Iraqi faculty members – Abdul-Khaliq Y. Zaier Al-Badran, Abdulzahra Khu Raheem Alaliawi, and Majid Abdulnabi Alwan Al-Tameemi – came to OSU as part of a $1 million grant OSU and Basrah University received from the U.S. Department of State’s Iraqi Linkage Program.

Throughout the next three years, numerous Basrah University faculty members will work closely with Oklahoma State faculty from the School of Chemical Engineering, the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Department of Finance to review Basrah University’s current curriculum and to help the Iraqi university develop a more student-centered, interactive pedagogy.

“We are excited about our engagement with these colleaguesfrom Basrah University, and are striving in collaborative effort to enhanceeducational programs in Petroleum Engineering, Computer Engineering and Finance,” said Dr. Khaled Gasem, Interim Dean, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.  “We believe once this project is complete, the educational curricula in these programs will see significant improvement. Specifically, our goal is to provide each discipline a contemporary undergraduate curriculum that will prepare Iraqi students with the credentials and skills to enter practice in industry or pursue graduate study.”

During the visit, there will be several tours and information meetings giving the Basrah faculty full appreciation for curriculum and instructional methods in the College of Engineering, as well as the Spears School of Business.

OSU hopes to build a longstanding relationship with Basrah University, which will broaden its international presence as well as educational development abroad.

“We are incredibly honored to host this program,” said John Polonchek, head of the Department of Finance in OSU’s Spears School of Business and co-principal investigator for the grant project. “This is just the first group we’ll be hosting. In the next three years, we expect additional visits by other faculty cohorts.”

Polonchek said OSU was selected for the grant because the U.S. Department of State wanted to work with a university that was able to deliver quality information in multiple programs.

“Basrah is in the southern portion of Iraq,” Polonchek said. “It’s basically the functional equivalent of Houston, and it’s located in a major oil area. That’s why they were very much interested in petroleum engineering, computer engineering and finance. While the Iraqi faculty members are here, we’ll do certain things as a group, but then each of the individual departments will meet with the individuals they’re working with from Iraq.”

Polonchek said they had several unique opportunities planned for Al-Badran, the finance professor visiting from Basrah University. Throughout his 12-day stay in Oklahoma,
Al-Badran will get to tour OSU’s campuses and several major financialinstitutions in Oklahoma; travel to Dallas to see the Dallas Museum of Art and the JFK Memorial; meet with Spears School Dean Larry Crosby, OSU Provost Robert Sternberg and OSU President Burns Hargis; attend several cultural events onOSU’s campus; and speak at Stillwater High School about Iraq. In addition, Al-Badran will get to meet OSU’s finance department and sit in on several classes and training sessions to observe western curriculum and teaching styles in person.

“Hopefully we’ll have the opportunity for a great many people to interact with them,” Polonchek said. “This project is incredibly important to us, and we’re excited about moving forward with it.”

For additional information about the Iraqi Linkage Program, call 405-744-5199 or send an email to finance@okstate.edu.