IOU receives membership to the Federation of the Universities of the Islamic World, as part of ISESCO.

The conference hosted about 250 delegates from all member universities of the FUIW. It served primarily as a platform for the tabling of official reports and provided an overview of FUIW activities and events.

This was the first conference to which IOU was invited, owing to the recent acceptance of IOU as a member university to the FUIW, ISESCO.

The FUIW is a branch of ISESCO that seeks to consolidate and harmonize partnerships between Muslim-run universities. See FUIW Guide VE.pdf (attached) for an overview of the FUIW. IOU is listed on page 18.

Information on the Academic Chairs programme of the FUIW and other events can be found in the following attachments: FUIW brochure VE.pdf, FUIW newsletter VE.pdf.

The conference took place on 13 and 14 February 2017 at the ISESCO Headquarters in Morocco. See Fig. 1.

Fig. 1 ISESCO Headquarters, Rabat, Morocco

Owing to Dr Barry being unable to attend, I was the only IOU representative and natural head of the delegation. IOU was granted an official seat at the conference as a member university. See Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 Sh. Mukhtar Raban in IOU’s seat in the conference hall.

The conference was opened and chaired by H.E. Prof. Dr Suliman bin Hamud bin Abdallah Aba Al-Khail, Rector of Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Chairman of the Executive Council of the Federation, President of the General Conference of the Federation.

Fig 3. FUIW Conference preparing for the opening

I attended the conference and official proceedings (See 1.2 VE.pdf and 1.3 VE.pdf for the full agenda and programme) and networked during the social events.

The most significant item on the agenda was the official admittance of IOU as a member of the FUIW. See 1.1 VE.pdf (attached) for the official resolution. IOU is listed as accepted on page 10 of the document.

Fig. 4 Acceptance of IOU to FUIW

The conference was conducted in official meeting-style event with tabling of reports of items and moving and seconding for acceptance of the reports. Summaries of the reports were provided by the conference coordinator, H.E. Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), ex-officio Secretary General of the FUIW.

The following reports were tabled:

Report of the FUIW Executive Council between the Sixth and Seventh General Conference Sessions (2.1 VE.pdf)
Report of the Secretary General on the Federation’s Activities between the Sixth and Seventh General Conference Sessions (2.2 VE.pdf)
Financial Report of the Secretary General and Study of the Financial Situation for the Years 2013-2015 (2.3 VE.pdf)

The following proposals were submitted and tabled:

Draft Action Plan and Budget for the Years 2016-2018 (3.1 VE.pdf)
Project of Integrated Programme for Strengthening Exchange and Cooperation among Member Universities (3.2 VE.pdf)
Project of Performance Measurement Mechanism for the Universities of the Islamic World and its Implementation Road Map (3.3 VE.pdf)
Project of Islamic World Observatory of Science, Technology and Innovation (3.4 VE.pdf)

The following amendments to policies and organizational legislature were proposed and accepted:

Draft Amendment to the FUIW Charter (4.1 VE.pdf)
Draft Amendment to the Rules of Procedure of the FUIW Executive Council (4.2 VE.pdf)
Draft Amendment to the Rules of Procedure of the FUIW General Conference (4.3 VE.pdf)
Draft Amendment to the FUIW Financial Regulations (4.4 VE.pdf)

I networked with various organisations and universities during the breaks.

Fig. 5 Delegates at FUIW Conference

Many universities showed a keen interest in developing partnerships with IOU to help them develop online learning programmes.

Particular universities showed interest in establishing MoUs with IOU, including Al Andalus University for Science and Technology in Yemen and Jamia Nadwiyya Edavanna in India.

Fig. 6 Sh. Mukhtar Raban with Prof. Ahmed Barrgaan (Al Andalus University for Science and Technology)

Fig. 7 Sh Mukhtar Raban with the delegation from Jamia Nadwiyya (India).

I also had a brief meeting with Ms Oley Dibba-Wadda of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa regarding assisting IOU with general development. She indicated that we could explore this in the near future.

Special greetings were conveyed by Dr Abdur Rahman Salafi to Dr Bilal Philips, and from Ms Oley Dibba-Wadda to Dr Barry.

General Observations/Points/Recommendations were noted:

IOU can benefit from the FUIW through partnerships will fellow member universities of the FUIW.
IOU can draw on the expertise of the FUIW as an organization.
IOU should apply to serve on the executive committee as decision making power and possible routes to securing funding could become possible.
IOU should adopt and populate the FUIW research themes so that we could apply for the cash grants and prizes available for excellent research outputs.
IOU should participate in the virtual learning project of the FUIW.
Greater international engagement can be accomplished through IOU’s participation in forums such as FUIW.

The following documents were tabled at the closing of the conference:

Final Report (Final Report.pdf)
Rabat Declaration on Strategic Development of University Education in the Muslim World (Rabat Declaration.pdf)
Statement on Supporting Al-Quds University (Statement – Al Quds.pdf)

The conference closed on 14 February 2017.