Jordan Times
Friday, February 4, 2005
RSS to train Iraqis on IT
A similar course was held in October last year, also under the Third Country
Training Programme for Iraqis in IT
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — Seeking to build an IT culture in Iraq, the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed with the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) to
train dozens of Iraqis in the field.
An agreement was signed Wednesday between JICA and the society, which will hold
two successive IT training courses for about 40 Iraqis nominated by their
government. Each course will last for two weeks, with the first starting on Feb.
13 and the second opening on March 6.
“Under the economic sanctions in 1990s, Iraq missed very important developments
and experiences in the information technology,” JICA said in the text of the
agreement.
By the end of each course, participants are expected to understand the basics of
IT, master computer skills and pass the ICDL test, which is authorised by
UNESCO.
Japan looks at the training programme as part of its efforts to reconstruct Iraq
and support for efforts seeking to achieve sustainable developments in the
country, where progress was withheld due to sanctions and successive conflicts,
according to a statement released by JICA.
A similar course was held in October last year, also under the Third Country
Training Programme for Iraqis in IT. JICA officials said the Iraqis were
“satisfied” with the October course and had requested more training courses in
the field.
The February and March batches of trainees are mainly from Iraq's higher
education ministry who meet certain eligibility conditions, including that they
be involved in IT outside military and security institutions.
JICA said it has also conducted other capacity development programmes targeting
Iraq in various fields in cooperation with Jordan and Iraq's neighbours in line
with the Japanese government's reconstruction programme.
During this Japanese fiscal year, which started in April 2004, 400 Iraqis have
received training in the field of health, electricity, statistics and water
resources, in addition to IT. The number is expected to rise to 600 by the end
of March. The agency is also planning programmes in other sectors such as
cultural heritage and public security.