American University of Kurdistan to hold commencement ceremony for over 100 graduates

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The American University of Kurdistan (AUK) in Duhok is set to host its second-ever commencement ceremony on Sunday evening for more than 100 graduates in a variety of majors, according to the academic institution.

It is taking place shortly after the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) eased coronavirus restrictions that prevented the university from holding the ceremony last year.

One-hundred seventeen graduate candidates will gather on Sunday evening at 7:30 dressed in dark-blue gowns and yellow collars will officially complete their studies in business, arts and sciences, international studies, or engineering.

The graduates are from the academic years of 2019, 2020, and 2021.

Per the university’s COVID-19 policy, graduating students, families, and guests need to show a negative test result upon arrival to the campus, including those who have been vaccinated, the university’s communications office told Kurdistan 24 on Sunday.

Those who have not recently taken a test will be provided a rapid test at the campus’ entrance, the office added. Besides the testing, a strict policy of mask-wearing and social distancing will be enforced.

In addition to the graduating students, their families, and their friends, the ceremony will host “a number of high-ranked national and international political, social, educational, and economic leaders,” according the to AUK website.

The first graduation commencement was held in 2019.

AUK was founded in 2014 as a non-profit, special status institution of higher learning and aims “to shape the next generation of leaders through its curriculum and exceptional faculty.” 

In October, the university received a 4-million-dollar-grant from the US government, from which the university had financed over 70 scholarships for mostly females and minority groups.

“I cannot express how proud and happy I am to announce them [graduates of engineering] as my colleagues [and] as professional interior designers,” Mr. Ahmad Afara, a faculty at AUK’s design department of Art and Science College, told Kurdistan 24.

From Mr. Afara’s department, 16 students will receive their degrees on Sunday evening, according to a statement from the university.

The liberal arts university has accreditation from both the Iraqi and Kurdish ministries of higher education.

Editing by John J. Catherine