Civil Engineering Department Secures DAAD Grant for Earthquake Mitigation Project

Civil Engineering Department Secures DAAD Grant for Earthquake Mitigation Project

The Civil Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering at Tishk International University (TIU) continues to excel in research and community service endeavors with its recent winning of a DAAD grant under the Ta’ziz Short-Term Measures Program. The project is titled “Towards Earthquake Mitigation in Iraq: EMS-98 Adopted Vulnerability Assessment of Existing Buildings” and it will be carried out in collaboration with Bauhaus University Weimar, which focuses on assessing seismic vulnerability of structures in Iraq.

During the Bauhaus Summer School 2024, four faculty members and two students from TIU’s Civil Engineering Department will visit Bauhaus University for participation and training related to the project. One month from July 30th until August 29th this year Mr. Halmat Muslih – a faculty member – will stay there working on adopting EMS-98 (European Macroseismic Scale). The rest of them will stay there starting from August 17th until August 30th this year.

This is the second time that our Civil Engineering Department has collaborated successfully with Bauhaus University Weimar through DAAD grants; within three years now total number amounts to twenty-nine people including both faculties staffs & students have visited them so far as part of these programs funded by German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) which support internationalization efforts between higher education institutions worldwide such us ours here at TIU thereby enhancing capacities towards knowledge generation about earthquake preparedness particularly focused on Iraqi context.

The department’s previous project, titled “Multiscale Consequence Studies for Hazard Impact on Structures in Iraq,” achieved several milestones, including:

1. Building Stock Surveying in Erbil: Conducted a comprehensive survey of building stock, gathering data on 3,000 structures.

2. Publications and Presentations: Published two articles and presented them at The 18th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering (WCEE2024) held from June 30th to July 5th, 2024.

3. Bauhaus Summer School Participation: Facilitated the participation of 29 faculty members and students in the Bauhaus Summer School.

4. Mosul War-Damaged Building Assessment: Investigated and assessed the progressive collapse of war-damaged buildings in Mosul, which became the topic of a graduation project.

5. Pilot Course Implementation: Implemented a pilot course in the Civil Engineering Department, taught by Prof. Lars from Bauhaus University.

6. Joint Workshop: Conducted a workshop with Bauhaus University on building stock surveying.

7. Kurdistan Educational Seismic Observatory Center: Launched the center at TIU to observe seismic activity in the region.

8. Media Engagement: Appeared on Rudaw TV to explain the project and its benefits to the region.

9. Workshop Presentation: Presented the project at a workshop titled “Earthquake Hazard in Kurdistan Region,” attended by the Prime Minister and representatives from various local government agencies, conducted in Rotana on April 4, 2023.

These achievements indicate the department’s commitment to seismic danger alleviation and international cooperation promotion. The collaboration with Bauhaus University of Weimar is one way in which our Civil Engineering Department can show its dedication to making the country safer from earthquakes by means of inventive research and teaching.

Keywords: Engineering Education, Higher Education, Earthquake, University Students, Students, Learning, Construction Industry, Global Cooperation, Partnerships, Collaboration.