The University of Information and Technology & Communications (UoITC), held the second annual national forum for artificial intelligence in cooperation with Imam Jafar al-Sadiq University (peace be upon him). The forum came under the slogan “The World of Artificial Intelligence with Applied and Research Features.” The president of the university, Prof. Dr. Abbas Mohsen Al-Bakri confirmed in his speech that artificial intelligence is growing tremendously, and this requires new applications in an increasing number of sectors such as security, environment, education, health, culture, trade, etc.” Dr. Al-Bakri pointed out that “developers in this field are continuing to develop neural networks and new machine learning techniques such as deep and advanced learning adding that the medical field is also witnessing continuous growth in medical diagnosis, treatment description and improvement of health care, while artificial intelligence is witnessing great and rapid development in the field of robots and technologies.” Dr. Al-Bakri called for supporting the ecosystem for innovation in the field of artificial intelligence, indicating that this is what the university did by organizing a competition for developers in the field of artificial intelligence and setting financial and in-kind prizes for the best application or project for the winners.
Advisor to the Prime Minister and Executive Director of the Higher Committee for Educational Development in Iraq, Prof. Dr. Hamid Khalaf Ahmed congratulated holding this forum, pointing to the experiences of Arab countries that adopted the establishment of national councils for artificial intelligence and have formed an Arab working group, which in turn will adopt the creation of an appropriate and stimulating organizational strategy in the field of artificial intelligence technology. Dr. Ahmed stated, “Artificial intelligence requires huge data, and this means that good systems must be available to collect data and open the door to investment in this field and other requirements.”
The President of Imam Jaafar Al-Sadiq University (peace be upon him), Prof. Dr. Riyadh Khalil Ibrahim said: “Imam Jaafar Al-Sadiq University is very interested in cooperating with the University of Information and Communications Technology to hold this forum.” He pointed out that his university has established digital laboratories in addition to issuing the Mesopotamia Journal specializes in cybersecurity, which is classified within the Scopus database. After that, an open scientific session was held, in which an elite group of professors specializing in the field of artificial intelligence from the government side, international companies, and the labor market presented their paperwork. They talked about launching and developing the artificial intelligence strategy adopted by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research through what was proposed by the University of Information Technology and Communications.
The speakers also discussed many aspects of drawing the image of artificial intelligence in Iraq in a similar way to developed countries and their experiences in this field through this national strategy, which specialists expressed their optimism about, adding that it will greatly facilitate administrative work and reduce the knowledge gap.
The results of the artificial intelligence competition that was organized by the university were announced. The winners were honored with financial prizes and a shield of excellence. Osama Alaa Hussein won the first prize for his project about discovering diseases of rice leaves using artificial intelligence techniques, while the second prize went to the contestant Mina Habib Fadhel, whose project was about automating the drug delivery system for those lying in intensive care centers through artificial intelligence.

The third prize came to a work team consisting of three participants, Muhammad Riadh, Aya Jaafar, and Mustafa Muhammad, on a system that helps the doctor summarize the patient’s medical history and assist in writing medical reports in a way supported by artificial intelligence.

At the end of the forum, certificates of appreciation and shields of excellence were presented to the speakers and the project evaluation committee, in addition to the honorable university presidents of Imam Jaafar al-Sadiq University (peace be upon him) and the University of Information Technology and Communications (UoITC).