Assistant Lecturer Manar Naji Ghaib, a faculty member in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the College of Engineering, University of Baghdad, has concluded her participation in the “Growth and Innovation in Iraq” program, which was held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from December 20 to 23, 2025. This participation comes as part of ongoing efforts to enhance academic competencies and foster engagement with leading international experiences.
Her participation was in response to an official invitation from The Next Lab in the Netherlands, in strategic cooperation with Bunyan Foundation for Development and Education. She took part in an intensive professional program leading to the award of a Professional Diploma in Institutional and Organizational Management, focusing on design thinking strategies and institutional innovation, with the aim of transferring these advanced experiences to the academic and research environment in Iraq.
The program included a series of field visits to prominent Dutch institutions, notably the Amsterdam Public Library, where participants explored knowledge management models and the transformation of public spaces into cultural and community hubs; the University of Amsterdam, to learn about mechanisms for linking academic research with the business sector and community innovation; and the Sustainable Development Goals House, where practical solutions to global challenges were discussed, along with ways to align local projects in Iraq with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Assistant Lecturer Manar Naji affirmed that this participation aims to employ leadership and innovation skills in developing academic and administrative work within the Department of Electrical Engineering, contributing to the enhancement of educational outcomes and reinforcing the role of the University of Baghdad as a center of knowledge dissemination and a driver of positive change.
