Baghdad (NINA) –The U.S. Ambassador Christopher R. Hill announced the establishment of a new, $1 million diversity grant for the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani (AUI-S) during a commencement speech for the university’s first graduating class of MBA students. This grant, sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad with State Department funding, will create twenty 5-year undergraduate scholarships for students from outside the KRG.

Ambassador Hill praised the high academic standards of AUI-S, the first private university in Iraq offering an American-style education. While the university welcomes all qualified students, regardless of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, political affiliation or financial status, its student body is predominantly Kurdish. AUI-S has already planned outreach programs in a bid to generate interest and encourage more Arab students to apply. The diversity scholarships funded by the U.S. Embassy grant will accelerate the diversification of the AUI-S student body and give talented and deserving students from throughout Iraq the opportunity to study at AUI-S and obtain an undergraduate degree in any of the fields offered by the university.

In his commencement speech, Ambassador Hill congratulated the 27 new MBA graduates on their achievement, highlighting the value and importance of a business degree in today’s world and encouraging them to use their skills and entrepreneurial spirit to help Iraq realize its enormous economic potential. He urged the graduating students to use the knowledge they have gained to assist Iraq in rejoining the international community after decades of isolation by devising new business models and strategies, seizing market opportunities, and forging relationships with foreign companies. /End/