On April 19, the opening ceremony of the Iraqi “Excellence Pioneers” international student program was successfully held. Representatives from the governments, enterprises, and universities of China and Iraq, together with the first batch of 62 Iraqi students coming to study in China, witnessed this important moment.

The Iraq “Excellence Pioneers” international student program marks a historic breakthrough for the Training, Technology Transfer and Scholarship Fund (TTTSF), the national fund for oil and gas core talents of Iraq ,as it shifts its funding focus from Europe and the United States to China for the first time.

This program is funded by PetroChina West Qurna FZCO Iraq Branch and PetroChina Halfaya FZCO Iraq Branch, and implemented by China National Petroleum Corporation Technical Development Company Limited. The first batch of 62 outstanding students comes from 29 schools in six regions: Basra, Kirkuk, Mosul, Maysan, Baghdad and Thi Qar. Adopting a “0.5+4” training model, the program requires students to complete a one-semester preparatory course to strengthen their Chinese language, mathematics and science foundations, and then enter a four-year undergraduate program to major in petroleum engineering, chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and other disciplines. The program is an important embodiment of the university’s initiative to serve the national energy strategy, deepen university-enterprise cooperation and cultivate international talents. It is also a landmark achievement in jointly building “the Belt and Road Initiative” and deepening people-to-people exchanges and energy cooperation between China and Iraq.

Translated: Sun Yuqi, Geng Haiwei

Reviewed: Xu Xiaoyan

Updated: 2026-05-08