As part of the DAAD and BMBF-funded international cooperation project Design Department Sulaimani – Visual Communications Study Programme, in which HfK Bremen in cooperation with the University of Sulaimani and the Goethe-Institut in Iraq is establishing Iraq's first and so far only higher education programme in design, a delegation from the University of Sulaimani will visit Bremen between 21 and 27 October.

The delegation consists of: Dr. Shirwan Can, Bahroz Jaza Omer, Narmin Mustafa Awez, Dr. Nabaz Abdullatif Mohammed, all of them faculty at the newly established Design Department Sulaimani (DDS).

During the visit, the delegation will hold a workshop at HfK Bremen focusing on storytelling, based on texts by the Kurdish poet Sherko Berkas. The delegation will have meetings with key staff at HfK to discuss the progress of the project and future cooperation opportunities and will also participate in an introductory screen printing course as preparation for setting up a screen printing workshop at the University of Sulaymaniyah.

On 24 October, at 18:00, Shirwan Can will give a public presentation of the project at HfK Bremen, Segment 4, Floor 3.
As both Sulaimaniyah and Bremen are UNESCO Cities of Literature, the delegation, together with the illustration class of HfK Bremen, will hold a workshop in sculptural comic drawing on Saturday 26 October at the City Library, as part of the GlobaleFestival.

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF – Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung) and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD – Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst) with 826,000 € and is initially limited to four years.

Current courses

Delegation from the University of Sulaimaniyah visits HfK Bremen