The Cyprus Institute announces ten scholarships for students from Iraq

Ten scholarships - five at postgraduate and five at doctoral level - will be awarded to students from Iraq for the academic year 2024-2025,  the President of the Cyprus Institute, Professor Stavros Malas, has announced.

The announcement was made during Malas' meeting with the President of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid, at the Cyprus Institute, in Nicosia on 12 December.

Addressing President Rashid, the President of the Cyprus Institute expressed his support and solidarity with the people of Iraq, who, he said, are facing significant socio-economic and political challenges, describing him as a "symbol of unity."

He said that the Cyprus Institute has decided, in the framework of strengthening scientific activity in Iraq, to grant ten scholarships to postgraduate students, five at postgraduate level and five at doctoral level in programmes offered by the Institute.

Specifically, Professor Malas announced five full scholarships to be awarded to PhD students from Iraq in the fields of Computational Sciences, Energy, Environment and Atmospheric Sciences, as well as in the field of Science and Technology in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage.

At the same time, he noted that the institute will cover 50% of the tuition fees for five other postgraduate students in the fields of Simulation and Data Science, Environmental Sciences and Digital Cultural Heritage.

The President of Iraq, after expressing his thanks to the Cyprus Institute for granting the scholarships, said that Iraq, after a long period of wars with neighboring states and internal conflicts, has realized that the controversies not only do not contribute to the well-being of its citizens, but have put a brake on science and the progress of society.

"Historically, Iraq has been known for our establishments, our universities, our centers of science and technology, our agriculture, our science field and many other fields like medicine, engineering, even archaeology" the Iraqi President said, noting that in recent decades due to wars and other conflicts some of them have gone backwards.

"But I'm glad to report, Mr. President, that for the last few years, Iraq has realized that conflicts and wars and unfriendly behavior do not lead to any progress or do not lead to the well-being of our society" President Rashid said.

The remarks were followed by a presentation on the activities and programs of the Cyprus Institute, and then the Iraqi President was given a tour of the Institute's facilities.