Wednesday, February 17, 2021 - 11:45
American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS) President Dr. Bruce Walker Ferguson spoke on a webinar titled “Spotlight on Innovative Higher Education Institutions in the Middle East and South Asia” on February 17, 2021, as part of an online series of seminars hosted by George Washington University (GWU) on emerging trends in higher education in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Dr. Ferguson joined Professor Nirmala Rao, Vice Chancellor of Asian University for Women, as a panelist on the webinar, which was hosted by Dr. Kyle Long, Adjunct Assistant Professor of International Education at GWU and Dr. Bernhard Streitwieser, Associate Professor of International Education, also at GWU.
Starting off with an overview of AUIS, Dr. Ferguson then outlined the University’s quick transition to online instruction in response to a government decision to shutter universities across the Kurdistan Region to mitigate against COVID-19. AUIS was able to move instruction online in a matter of days, becoming the first university in the Middle East to do so.