The University of Human Development held its regular annual ceremony for its graduates, Class 2024, on 21 September 2024. Graduates from ten academic departments showed up at the ceremony venue for the most awaited day in their lives.

The ceremony was held in an outdoor space on the UHD campus. It began with the recitation of the Holy Quran followed by singing of national and UHD anthems. Then came the speech of the preparation committee which was delivered by Mr Shorish Qadir Ali, a lecturer at the College of Administration and Economics. Mr Ali congratulated the graduates on successfully completing their studies and said that UHD alumni stand a good chance to get employed.

The event announcer called upon the university’s present, Professor Dr Mariwan Ahmed Rasheed, to deliver his speech. Dr Rasheed welcomed the attendees and congratulated the graduates on their significant achievements, and sent his greetings to their families and friends. He stated that the study courses at UHD are modern and designed to help students learn fast and grasp the latest information in their fields. He pointed out that UHD attempts to build confidence in its students and prepares them to face the challenges of work in Kurdistan, but also in Iraq and the wider world.

In his speech, Dr Rasheed referred to UHD’s collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and said that his university’s teaching staff follow the instruction of the Ministry and that they have and will continue to attend academic workshops, seminars, and other activities that are arranged by the Ministry. UHD also holds and organises various activities every year with the purpose of increasing knowledge and awareness on important political, social, and scientific issues, etc.

Another point in the president’s speech was the position of UHD in the national and international ranking systems, something UHD is proud of. UHD will continue on its academic and scientific journey, and it will soon sign Memorandum of Understanding with several European universities for academic and scientific matters and future projects.

Two more interesting developments the president referred to were the two scientific journals of UHD (the journals have recently, and for the second time, received accreditation from the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and they are invited by ARCIF to attend a special conference) and UHD’s Pedagogical Training Centre, which trains holders of Master’s and PhD degrees and qualifies them to teach at Kurdistan Higher Education institutions.

The president finally cited a significant success of UHD students at the Huawei ICT Global Competition 2023-2024 – several UHD students from the College of Science and Technology entered the Huawei ICT Global Competition 2023-2024 and managed to win first place. At the end of his speech, the president expressed his appreciation for the constant and unwavering support of the owner and Head of the Board of Trustees, Prof. Dr Ali Muhyiddin Qaradaghi, and thanked him for everything he does for UHD.

The graduates were then asked to stand up and repeat the graduation oath after Asst Prof. Dr Hiwa Abubakir Ali, the UHD President’s Assistant for Financial Affairs. The oath declared that graduates would follow professional ethics in their future careers and would do all they could to serve their country and its people.

The 2024 ceremony was special. It coincided with the first day of autumn and the first rainfall of the year. The weather was cool and the atmosphere was colourful. Graduates’ parents were allowed to join their sons and daughters and celebrate together the wonderful graduation day.