ERBIL () - Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani arrived in Duhok on Thursday to preside over the seventh graduation ceremony of the American University of Kurdistan (AUK), where 122 students from four colleges and eight departments received their degrees, many of them the sons and daughters of martyrs who completed their studies free of charge.
Prime Minister Barzani, who also chairs AUK's Board of Trustees, attended the ceremony in his capacity as both head of the Kurdistan Regional Government and the university's founding patron. Officials said the majority of this year's graduating class had studied without paying tuition, having been admitted through scholarship programs designed for families of martyrs and students facing financial hardship.
Before the graduation proceedings began, the university officially opened its new boys' dormitory, a six-story building designed to house 200 students. Constructed to international standards, the facility is intended to provide students with improved living conditions as AUK's enrollment continues to grow.
The American University of Kurdistan was established in Duhok in 2014 at the initiative of Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. The university was founded with the goal of delivering an advanced, American-standard education system and positioning itself as a leading academic institution in Iraq and the wider region, tasked with preparing future leaders across a range of fields.
Each year, AUK hosts international conferences and high-level meetings attended by political leaders and foreign experts, a role that has turned the campus into more than a center of learning. University officials describe it as a platform for the exchange of ideas and diplomacy within the Kurdistan Region.
Scholarships remain central to that mission. The university offers free tuition to the families of martyrs, first-generation university students, and talented young people who lack the financial means to pursue higher education, a program officials describe as central to serving the community and building local capacity.
As the seventh cohort of graduates prepares to enter the workforce, AUK's leadership continues to position the university as a cornerstone of the Kurdistan Region's long-term investment in education and its next generation of professionals.
