Student Exchange

Asaad Walid Fayez Haj Muhammad

Faculty of Engineering and Technology

Nature of participation:

We trained in the laboratories of Warith Al-Anbiya University, a newly established university founded in 2017 in the city of Karbala. It is affiliated with the Imam Hussein Shrine, one of the institutions affiliated with the Shiite Endowment in Iraq. The institutions of the Imam Hussein Shrine are known for their sophistication and interest in expanding their projects by investing a portion of their profits in establishing new initiatives. Through this opportunity, we received training on several projects at the Imam Hussein Shrine, with our specializations varying between civil engineering, electrical engineering, and my own specialization in mechanical engineering. During our internship, we benefited from cultural exposure to various branches of engineering and visited the region's holy, cultural, and tourist sites. It was wonderful to observe the religious tolerance that prevails among the people there, which added to our happiness and made us feel very comfortable practicing our religious rituals. We discovered that we are very similar; we are united, speak the same language, and share the same values of generosity and noble morals.

Scientific and practical experience:

During our internship, we visited several important sites, including: The Diraman Center for Prosthetics: At this center, we learned about the prosthetics department, part of the medical engineering and prosthetics major offered by the university. The Imam Hassan Medical City: We had the opportunity to learn about the various medical engineering departments in this pioneering medical city. The Warith Printing and Publishing House: This house, also affiliated with the Imam Hussein Shrine, is the largest printing and publishing house in Iraq. It is concerned with printing and publishing books and curricula nationwide, and operates as an integrated production line, from papers and manuscripts to books. University Workshops: Our training experience included working in the university workshops, which include several departments, such as air conditioning and refrigeration, biomedical engineering, civil engineering, aircraft engineering, and petroleum engineering.

Other activities:

During our visit, we participated in many recreational and cultural activities. We visited Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad, known for its rich cultural history, as well as Saddam Hussein's palace, the presidential palace at the time. We also toured shopping malls and enjoyed delicious local food, especially Iraqi kebab and fish. We were also taken swimming, where they rented a chalet for us for the day. We were treated to great generosity by both our hosts and the general public, especially when they learned we were from Palestine. We also visited the holy shrines and tombs, which are highly revered by Shiites in general. For me, the student exchange program I participated in played a significant role in providing an opportunity to meet a professional colleague who works as a trainer in continuing education institutions and runs the largest automotive electronics training center in Iraq. During my stay there, I got to know him and he welcomed me warmly. We discussed ways to enhance cooperation between the Throttle Academy for Vocational Training, which I represent, and its center, the Asaad Automotive Electronics Training Center. Through this experience, I realized the importance of such events in opening new horizons for students and encouraging them to participate in student exchange programs. These programs provide them with the opportunity to learn about different professional specialties and expand their professional networks, which contributes to developing their skills and enriching their educational experience.