Al-Sharq University opened in Raqqa on 27 November 2021. The institution has 10 departments, including academies and faculties. Two new departments were opened this summer.

According to the university administration, the Kurdish Language department and the Electrical and Electronics Engineering department will start in the new academic year. Education in both departments lasts 2 years.

The spokesperson for the University Application Committee and Faculty of Economics, Kelah El Kelah, said that both departments opened to respond to the needs in the region and that everyone  in the region can apply to these departments.

El Kelah said that those who have completed high school education affiliated with the Autonomous Administration and the Damascus government can register at both departments.

Background

The city of Raqqa was the capital of the so-called caliphate of ISIS, where death and darkness had dominated everyday life. Raqqa, even before that, was suffering from underdevelopment, poverty, and deprivation. It was not receiving much attention from the central government in terms of higher education. The only official institution in the city was a branch of the University of Al-Furat that opened just before the beginning of the civil war in the country in 2011. Such unfair treatment has caused a severe shortage in educational infrastructure being provided for students of this city. During ISIS rule over the city, a total ban on all types of teaching (private and public schools) was enforced, and this delayed education for many children and young people of the city and the region around.

After the liberation of Raqqa in 2017, a group of intellectuals decided not to permit the negative consequences of ISIS rule on the city and to resist and overturn the tremendous devastation ISIS had brought on Raqqa and the region. The effort finally resulted in establishing the University of Al-Sharq in October 2021. The primary objective of the university was not only to provide education to students but to play a prominent role in rebuilding a society that has been severely damaged by years of war and the dystopian rule of ISIS. Through its relations with the community, the educational system it builds, and the teaching styles it employs, the university emphasizes modern knowledge and academic skills and expertise alongside cultural and moral perspectives from the region.

The university started with eight departments: Arabic literature, Pedagogy (classroom teachers), chemistry, math, physics, biology, technical institute, English institute, and institute of languages).  Please note that the institute of languages is currently ready and advertising to teach five languages: Arabic, English, French, German and Kurdish.