Support to Tertiary Education Project

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The Project is intended to develop institutional capacity for improving employability of university students in national development priority areas. It supports the Iraqi government's effort in addressing skills and youth unemployment with a focus on how to make tertiary education more relevant to the needs of both the labor market and national development priorities. The Project provides financial and technical support to the Government in three main areas: (1) developing institutional capacity in disciplinary areas that support three national development priority sectors - agriculture and renewable energy through support to the preparation for establishing a centers of excellence in each of these priority areas and to the development and delivery of training/incubation in solar energy for meeting immediate needs derived from the latest Government's climate change initiative (Component 1); (2) strengthening partnerships with the private sector and international universities/organizations for improving graduates' employability through piloting a competitive fund program (Component 2); and (3) enhancing project coordination, evidence-based policy/decision-making, graduate monitoring mechanisms and monitoring/evaluation capacities of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) and those tertiary education institutions involved in the implementation of this project (Component 3). The main beneficiaries from this grant will include: (i) students, graduates and faculty members (including females) for their upgraded knowledge and skills to meet academic standards and labor market needs; (ii) MoHESR and involved TEIs for their improved programs and capacities; and (iii) the tertiary education sector for its established new mechanisms for system improvement such as competitive fund program, partnership with the private sector, and graduate monitoring; and (iv) students, graduates, alumni and workers who received training and are able to find jobs or start their own businesses to create employment opportunities in the solar energy industry.