Tishk International University is a private university established in 2008 in Erbil-Kurdistan, Iraq and owned by local and International investors and educators. Tishk University is granted Certificate for the Quality Management System and is a member in the Union of Arabic Universities.
History of Tishk University
Tishk University was officially founded in 2008 with a ceremony in which Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, parliamentarians and bureaucrats, along with parliamentarians from Turkey were present. It was founded by the hizmet group belonging to Fethullah Gülen.
In 2008–2009, the education started with the English Prep only with 160 students on the Brayaty Campus located on 60 meter road. During 2009–2010, students were accepted in 5 Bachelor's degree Programs and 8 English Prep Programs. In the same year, the campus was enlarged by the conversion of unused area of an Industrial School and some other buildings into the Education Faculty. This place served as the old campus of the university for about 3 years.
In 2010–2011, all the faculties covering 9 Bachelor Programs, except for Prep School, were carried to the new campus on 100 meter road. The next year, Prep School was also transferred to the new campus where two buildings were in services: main building and the Dentistry Faculty building. During 2011–2013, it became the Center of TOEFL and Continuing Education.
2014-2015 Academic Year has become a turning point for the University from many angles:
In 2015–2016, the University started the process of gaining the International Academic Accreditation Certificate for the Civil Engineering Programme.
In 2016–2017, the followings were achieved:
* Civil Engineering Programme was granted the International Academic Accreditation Certificate without any conditions by the German Agency ZeVA which is a member in the European Association of Quality Assurance of Higher Education 'ENQA' and a member in the German Union of Accreditation 'ECA'.
* Three new Bachelor programmes were established: Surveying and Geomatics Engineering, Petroleum and Mining Engineering and Mechatronics Engineering.
* Joint Master Programmes have been opened in cooperation with Erbil Polytechnic University in three specialties: Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering and Mechanical and Energy Engineering.
* Staff Exchange Programme was applied with Keylana University in Sri Lanka.
* According to the Webometrics Ranking results published in January and July 2018, Ishik University was ranked number one among all private universities in the Kurdistan Region and in Iraq.
* In May 2018, Ishik was certified to ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems Certificate by Bureau Veritas Certification Holding SAS-UK Branch. The Certificate was accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Services Body.
* In June 2018, the Law bachelor's degree Program of Ishik University has been accredited for five years without any condition by the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Center of the Association of Arab Universities.
In 2018-2019
* In Feb 2019, both Computer Engineering Program and Information Technology Program were granted the International Academic Accreditation Certificate by the German Agency “ZeVA”.
Governing bodies of Tishk University are: the Higher Board of Trustees and the University Council. In addition to these governing bodies, the Academic Evaluation and Quality Assurance Board has been established. In the lower levels, there is a 'Faculty Council' at each faculty and a 'Departmental Board' at each department.
In the following, some measures taken by Ishik University to increase the internationalization at all levels are described.
Employing International Staff
There are more than 80 international staff working in both academic and non-academic positions, being from various countries such as Turkey, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, India and United States.
Enrollment of International Students
The rules and regulations of ISHIK University allow international students from any country to join any study programme within the University. In the academic year 2015–2016, the number of international students studying at Ishik University reached 100 students.
Applying International Standards such as ISO 9001:2008
In 2014, the University Council decided to implement ISO 9001:2008 standard at ISHIK University which sets out the criteria for a Quality Management System and which is implemented by over one million companies and organizations over 170 countries. For two years, the documents and the requirements were prepared and fulfilled till finally the external auditors certified Ishik University on June 4, 2015. In addition to increasing the quality within the University, helps to have access to more memorandums and cooperation with other national and international universities and organizations.
Applying Bologna Process
Ishik University has implemented many parts of Bologna Process such as:
Credit System
Some Structural Reforms
Internal Quality Assurance
External Quality Assurance
Academic Mobility
Values and Fundamental Principles
Students Exchange Programmes
International Relations Office was established at ISHIK University in 2013. IRO is a unit which furthers and supports the exchange of students between the higher education institutions of other countries. So far 22 students from different departments have utilized the Exchange Programme.
Teaching Language and Credit System
Teaching language at ISHIK University is English, except the law programme which is based on Arabic language. Also Ishik University has adopted ECTS to assess the achievement of expected learning outcomes. At Ishik the academic year is divided into two main terms: fall and spring.
Universities in Collaboration with Tishk University
ISHIK University has signed memorandums with 53 universities in various countries such as: Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, Cyprus, Georgia, Germany, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Turkey and United States.
