Higher education and scientific research are among the most important factors of development and progress in any society, affecting the economy, technology, culture, science, and health. As an expatriate academic, I consider that the Arab world faces many challenges regarding education and scientific research. Despite progress in some Arab countries or some universities, there remains much work to be done to improve the quality of education and science in the region.
Based on this principle, my interest in studying the reality of higher education and scientific research institutions in the Arab world began directly after I started paying attention to education in my country Iraq, specifically since 2003, when I began my journey by studying the origins of problems in higher education institutions in the Arab world. Before that, my interest in higher education in Arab countries stemmed from my scientific connections in biological, cellular, and genetic engineering with the Arab world and my frequent scientific visits, where interest in the scientific specialization was greater than interest in educational and pedagogical problems.
During this interest in the Iraqi educational situation, I found many problems, including the lack of necessary infrastructure, weak material and human resources, in addition to the use of old teaching techniques and rote learning, lack of attention to critical and analytical thinking and the application of modern techniques in teaching and scientific research.
In addition, due to my belief in the importance of scientific research, innovation, and technological development in Arab societies, which comes through increasing knowledge and culture, and elevating the level of higher and comprehensive education in the region, my interest in this field is based on the belief that developing scientific research in Iraq will help elevate the levels of education and scientific achievement in the region.
In 2009, about seven years before my retirement, I published an article titled: "Why Do We Need a Quality Assurance System in Universities?" I followed it with several other articles on quality, which have not stopped to this day and have become my primary preoccupation. These articles contained a number of ideas about quality paths and their improvement, but the main idea was simple and profound at the same time: there is no country or experience where quality is maintained by preserving the status quo, that is, by avoiding modernization and change. I always emphasized that we need to disrupt the effect of traditional beliefs and not be lenient in applying the foundations of the quality system.
This idea, reinforced by international initiatives to improve quality, continues to test decision-makers regarding the procedures and methods chosen to develop higher education. Despite our full conviction that there is no quick solution to bring about change, and that achieving quality takes time, it is extremely important to change the prevailing culture that views quality as only the responsibility of the quality department and not every individual's responsibility in the university, merely procedures when needed rather than a continuous process, and only means satisfying decision-makers and thanking them for "achievements," when it is actually a fateful process that places officials and faculty members between only two choices: either universities remain as old factories in permanent slumber, or they evolve to keep pace with what is happening in global universities.
All these developments in education are encouraging, but the benefits remain gradual. The great challenge now is to find ways to improve learning outcomes and achieve much better performance, through reforming both the primary and university education systems, changing teaching methods, and introducing educational technology into schools and universities. Fortunately, there are ongoing tests indicating the success of initiatives in many Arab universities.