تعليم الأمن السيبراني في العراق ٢٠٢٦: قراءة تحليلية في استحداث الأقسام

This report provides an analytical overview of cybersecurity education in Iraq through the 2026–2027 academic year, drawing on a survey of academic departments and an analysis of study pathways, admissions, sectoral and geographic distribution, training, and partnerships. It identifies 123 academic departments offering cybersecurity education at the bachelor’s or diploma level. The findings reveal rapid and uneven expansion marked by sectoral and geographic concentration. Private institutions account for 70.94% of departments in governorates outside the Kurdistan Region, while more than half of the existing bachelor’s programmes were established during the 2025–2026 academic year. Geographic disparities are also evident, with approximately 75% of departments nationwide concentrated in central Iraq. Regarding women’s participation, the report highlights two initiatives dedicated to female students, one in the public sector and the other in the private sector. The report concludes that rapid expansion makes departmental sustainability and academic quality urgent priorities. Addressing these priorities requires ensuring adequate numbers of specialist teaching staff and developing their capabilities, strengthening laboratory infrastructure and practical training, updating curricula, and clearly defining the outcomes of academic pathways and their alignment with labour market needs. This expansion also underscores the need for systematic academic monitoring that links departmental sustainability to the demonstrated capacity to prepare qualified graduates, making the quality of graduate outcomes and their relevance to labour market needs central criteria for assessing the success of the expansion of cybersecurity education in Iraq.