Higher Education Minister gives orders to cut through red tape in order to support efforts of tech incubators

INA-  BAGHDAD

Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Naim Al-Aboudi announced on Monday, the achievement of the ministry's goals for sustainable development, and pointing to efforts to bridge the gap between education outputs and the labor market, he also directed to overcome bureaucratic procedures that may stand in the way of the work of technological incubators.  

Al-Aboudi said at the first conference of technological and scientific incubators, which was attended by the reporter of the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "In the midst of this direct interest in the sustainable development file, we meet in a new development space that represents a vital link between higher education and its outputs and the labor market, in addition to its contribution to supporting innovation and entrepreneurship and promoting national economic development," stressing the need for "these technological and scientific incubators to be a qualitative track in our universities to develop capabilities, support entrepreneurship and provide a package of services and resources to help in transforming the innovative ideas of our youth and students into successful entrepreneurial projects."

 
He added that "the Ministry of Education has made a tireless effort to bridge the gap between the outputs of education and the labor market, and was very keen to frame this vision through the Ninth Amendment to the Law of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, which opened the way for the establishment of technological and scientific incubators in universities," noting that "based on this conference, we will spare no effort to achieve the objectives of this pioneering policy, which aims to involve young people who are able to contribute to the consolidation of the national economy through the embodiment of scientific knowledge and research in the form of entrepreneurial, productive and innovative projects in line with the sustainable development goals."
 
 He stressed "the need to overcome the bureaucratic procedures that may face the first steps of the work of these technological incubators, strengthen the contexts of cooperation between universities and society, develop opportunities for interaction between these two spaces, bridge the gap between the theoretical and practical aspects, and meet the variables of the labor market and development requirements."

He explained that "our Iraqi government places the development file at the top of its priorities and at the forefront of its direct interest stipulated in its ministerial program and curriculum," noting that "the global strategy for sustainable development in which Iraq participates and which extends until 2030 has placed the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research at the forefront of national institutions that have a qualitative space to influence in terms of serving society and embodying the highest level of commitment to performing its tasks in the field of sustainable development and proceeding with its policy, research and achievements within the areas of excellence and keenness to advance its programs and curricula within the quality environment and strengthen the links of partnership and integration with the relevant international organizations and various state institutions."

He stated that "the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has achieved its goals in this path," noting that "the outputs of our educational institutions were and still are effective and influential in community issues and contribute seriously to producing and formulating academic methodological solutions and analyzing development phenomena and problems."

He added that " working in a team spirit and distributing loads and responsibilities according to the components and standards of quality management ultimately led to an outstanding level of performance and desired results, which culminated in Iraq's seventh place globally and the first Arab in the Times sustainable development rating for the year 2024," praising "the attention, care and follow-up from the prime minister Mohamed Shia Al-Sudani esteemed for the achievements of higher education and scientific research institutions in international classifications and forums.

He thanked the parliamentary higher education committee for our return to be a partner and supporter of the ministry and its universities and to the employees of the ministry and universities in order to continue to deliver knowledge and science, perform their duties with dedication and sincerity, face challenges with high responsibility and achieve what we all aspire to from programmatic and institutional development".