History of Tishk International University

(previously Ishik University)

Tishk International University (previously Ishik University) is a private university which was founded in 2008 in Erbil. The university started educational service with 5 faculties containing 9 departments on the first campus located on the 60 Meter Avenue. The faculties and the departments are as follows: Engineering Faculty (Computer Engineering and Civil Engineering), Dentistry Faculty (Dentistry Department), Administrative Sciences and Economics (Economy Department and Business and Management Department), Education Faculty (English Language Teaching Department, Mathematics Teaching Department and Computer Teaching), and Science Faculty (Information Technologies Department).

In 2008-2009 Academic Year,

The education started on the ground floor of the Private Ishik High School, temporarily.
The first Bacheolar’s Program started with the 32 students the English Language Teaching Department of Education Faculty.
131 Prep students from the following 4 programs started studying English language: Computer Engineering, Dentistry Department, Business and Management Department, and Information Technologies Departments.
The Continuing Education Center was established.
The first national competition dedicated to the high school students was organized under the name of “Iraq National Projects Olympiads (INPO)” in collaboration with the Private Ishik High School.

In 2009-2010 Academic Year,

The campus was enlarged by the conversion of an unused workshop of an industrial school and some parts of the Ishik High School.
This designated area served as the old campus of the university for about 3 years.
After the enlargement of the campus, the students were accepted to 6 Bachelor’s Degree Programs (Computer Engineering and Civil Engineering, Dentistry Department, Business and Management Department, English Language Teaching Department, and Information Technologies Department.)
Computer Education and Economy Departments were closed.
The first international conference named as “1st Visible International Teaching Language Conference (VCELT)” was organized by the Faculty of Education.Following 2014-2015 Academic Year, this conference was named as the serial of the VESAL (abbreviated for “International Visible Conference on Educational Studies and Applied Linguistics).
The university also started to give service of TOEFL as one of the official centers in the region.
Ishik University became a member of the International Universities Association.
New campus construction started with two buildings.

In 2010-2011 Academic Year,

The Law Faculty was established and started education with 93 students in Arabic language (only for this department).
During the first semester, all the faculties covering 7 Bachelor’s Programs, except for Prep School. .
The first MoU’s were signed with several universities from different countries.
The first test competition dedicated the high school students was implemented under the name of “Ishik Test Competition Organization (ITCO)”.

In 2012-2013 Academic Year,

The quality journey of the university started and as the first step, the curriculum of the programs was adapted to the Bologna Process.
International Relations Office was set.

In 2013-2014 Academic Year,

The application for ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Systems Certificate was performed as the second step of the quality journey.
The number of the programs was increased to 10 by the addition of the new departments which are Architectural Engineering Department, Banking and Finance Department.
The Mathematics Education Department accepted its first students.
The Student Exchange Program was established and the first exchange was performed by 16 students from 7 departments: Computer and Civil Engineering, Architecture, Business and Management, International Relations and Diplomacy, Information Technologies and English Language Teaching.
The first international conference named as “1st Ecology, Environment and Energy Conference (ICEEE)” was organized by the Faculty of Education. Following 2015-2016 Academic Year, this conference was named as the serial of the ICEEAS (abbreviated for “International Conference on the Energy, Environment and Applied Sciences”).
The second national competition on the engineering dedicated to the high school students was organized under the name of Innovation Contest in Engineering (ICE). Following 2015, it was transformed into “National Innovation Contest in Engineering (NICE)”.
The third national scientific competition dedicated to the high school students was organized under the name of “Future Inventors’ Project Olympiads (FPO)” in collaboration with the private schools and the Ministry of Education.
The university became the member of the Global Engineering Deans Council (GEDC) that is located in the USA.

In 2014-2015 Academic Year,

The second branch of the university was established in Sulaimani city with 5 departments under two faculties: Faculty of Engineering (Civil and Architectural Engineering Departments), Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics (Business and Management, Banking and Finance, and International Relations and Diplomacy Departments).
Ishik University was separated into two campuses as Erbil and SulaimaniCampuses.
The education on the Sulaimani Campus started with Prep classes of 3 programs: Business and Management, Civil Engineering, Architecture Departments.
The Staff Exchange Program was established and the first exchange was performed.
The first international conference named as “1st International Engineering Conference on Developments in Civil & Computer Engineering Applications(IEC)” was organized by the Faculty of Engineering.
A new building dedicated to the education faculty was built.
IJSSES (International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies) was established.
The first issue of IJSSES was published in September 2014.
The number of the programs was increased to 15 with the opening of the Departments of Interior Design, Accounting, International Relations and Diplomacy, the Physics Education, and the Biology Education.
The Ishik Research Center was established.
The Engineering Consultation Bureau was established.
The number of the MoU universities increased up to 46 universities from different parts of the world.
The university signed Double Diploma Agreement with California University and North American University.
The third step of the quality journey was accomplished:

In May 2015, the university was certified with ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Systems Certificate by British Certifications Inc from UK.

In 2015-2016 Academic Year, as the third step of the quality journey,

The university has signed a contract with the German based accreditation agency ZEvA (Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency).
EAJSE (Eurasian Journal of Science and Engineering) was established under the Engineering Faculty.
The first issue of EAJSE was published in December 2015.
EJGD (European Journal of General Dentistry) was published under Ishik University’s name.

In 2016-2017,

Civil Engineering bachelor’s program was accredited by the Central Evaluation and Accreditations Agency Hannover (ZEvA) on March 23, 2017.
Official recognition of Ishik University by MHE in Iraq on August 24, 2017.
Joint Master Program has been opened with EPU on June 12, 2017 in three specialties(Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering and Mechanical Engineering).
3 new departments have been opened in Ishik University – Erbil campus.            

      (Surveying & Geometrics Engineering, Petroleum & Mining Engineering, Mechatronics Engineering).

Establishment of Radio Paraw and started to air.
Following its certificate of ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management Systems in May 2015 by British Certifications Inc from UK, Ishik University has applied to ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems.
The University hold its 1st National POP conference NPC – 2017 on March 04, 2017.
The University hold its 2nd International Ishik Business and Administrative Sciences Student Conference 2017 (IBASSC 2017) on May 21, 2017.
Students at Law department organized a conference exclusive to law students.
Fezalar Educational Company has changed to Ronaky Zanist Company.

In 2017-2018

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. Worldwide, it is among the top 5000 universities in the world.
Ishik e-Repository was established to make our staff’s publications more accessible to the outside world.
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 (UKAS).
In June 2018, the Law Bachelor 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 (AAU).
The Pharmacy Faculty has been opened at Ishik University, Erbil campus.
Medical Analysis Department has been opened in Ishik University – Erbil campus.              
The exchange program was organized for two students from Architecture department and two staff from Business and Management department and Mathematics department.  
In September 2017, 3 students from Engineering Faculty have been sent to the summer school held at Freiberg University in Germany, and in August 2018, 3 more students (two from civil engineering department and one from IT department) participated in the summer school which was held at Freiberg university, Germany.
MoUs were signed with 6 new different universities in different countries: (1) Freiberg university in Germany, (2) Palacký University in Czech Republic, (3) University of Calabria in Italy, (4) Birla Vishvakarama Mahavidyalaya university in India, (5) Bilateral agreement with UTM university in Malaysia and (6) Bilateral agreement with International Black Sea University in Georgia
Joint Master Programs have started in collaboration with Hawler Medical University, Salahaddin University and Erbil Polytechnic University in a variety of fields (see this link https://ishik.edu.iq/mp/).
In a collaborative project sponsored by the German DAAD, the International Relations Office at Ishik University hosted 17 students and 6 academic staff of Potsdam University from Germany in the Kurdistan Region for nine days.
The 1st International Conference on Architecture and Interior Design under the theme of “Targeting Sustainability and Heritage” was organized by the Faculty of Engineering at Ishik University in coordination with Salahaddin University.
The 1st International Conference of Accounting, Business, Economics and Politics was organized by the Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences.
The 1st International Conference on Science Management- Religion Diversity was held for two days in April 2018 and it gathered researchers and students from 4 different universities (Potsdam University in Germany, Ishik University, Salahaddin University and Catholic University-Erbil).

In 2018-2019

The name of the University was changed from Ishik University to Tishk International University.
In February 2019, the University celebrated its 10th anniversary of its founding. A large number of participants, students and guests attended the event, including KRG Ministers, MPs, NGOs and other officials.
In March 2019, Computer Engineering at the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at the Faculty of Science were awarded with the International Accreditation Certificates by ZEvA (the Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency), Germany without any conditions and for a period of five years.
In August 2019, four bachelor programs (English Language Teaching, Physics Education, Biology Education and Mathematics Education) at the Faculty of Education were awarded the International Accreditation Certificates by the Accreditation Service for International SCHOOLS, Colleges & Universities (ASIC) without any conditions and for a period of five years.
The Faculty of Nursing was approved by Ministry of Higher Education – KRG and opened at the University.
18 more MoUs have been signed with higher education institutions in Poland, Italy, India and Mosco.

In 2019-2020

In January 2020, TIU was ranked number ONE among all KRG private universities and THIRD among all KRG public and private universities according to Webometrics Ranking of World Universities (edition of Jan 2020).
In April 2020, the University started to implement the online education which came as a response to the lockdown caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
In July 2020, Architecture and Interior Design at the Faculty of Engineering were awarded the International Accreditation Certificates by ZEvA (the Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency), Germany without any conditions and for a period of six years.

In 2020-2021

In January 2021, the University was awarded the International Institutional Accreditation Certificate by ZEvA (the Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency), Germany without any conditions and for a period of six years.
The Department of Computer Education at Faculty of Education has been licensed by Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and opened its door to students.
On November 17th, 2020, TIU has been awarded the second version of ISO 9001:2015 certificate by Bureau Veritas Certification Holding SAS-UK Branch.
The new building of postgraduate unit at Faculty of Dentistry was opened.
As part of the expansion of the University, new labs have been constructed at the Departments of Petroleum and Mining, Mechatronics, Computer Engineering, Medical Analysis, Nursing and Physiotherapy.

In 2021-2022

In December 2021, Tishk International University has been awarded ISO 21001:2018 certificate by Bureau Veritas Certification Holding SAS-UK Branch.
In January 2022, Tishk International University has been ranked first among the private universities and fourth among public and private universities in the Kurdistan Region in the Webometrics ranking of universities. Worldwide, it is ranked 3934 making a huge progress in comparison to last year when it was ranked 7116 in the world.  
New departments have been licensed by Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research: Physiotherapy, Petrochemical Engineering, Pre-school education, Aviation Engineering, Marketing and Entrepreneurship and Kurdish Language Education.
In January 2022, a Memorandum of Understanding between TIU and Soran University has been signed and agreed on the establishment of joint Master Programs.  

In 2022-2023

In November 2022, the Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economy at TIU completed the First Stage of the EDAF Certification Procedure.
In its January Edition 2023, Webometrics ranked Tishk International University (TIU) FIRST among all private universities in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Moreover, TIU has maintained its THIRD position among all universities in the Kurdistan Region but has moved up to rank 15 among all universities in Iraq. On a global scale, TIU is now ranked 3166 as opposed to 3333 in August 2022. Further, considering the TRANSPARENT RANKING: Top Universities by Citations in Top Google Scholar Profiles for January 2023, Tishk International University ranks FIRST among private universities in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, 5th among public and private universities in the KRG, and 20th among Iraqi universities.

–    In April 2023, the Medical Analysis, Nursing, and Mechatronics Engineering Bachelor Programs were awarded the International Program Accreditation Certificates by ASIIN (The Accreditation Agency for Study Programmes in Engineering, Informatics, Natural Sciences and Mathematics), Germany.