Honar

Dr. Honar Issa

Secretary

Dr. Honar Issa has been at the heart of the American University of Kurdistan (AUK) since its earliest days, playing a pivotal role in shaping its vision and growth. A founding member of the Board of Trustees, he was instrumental in bringing the University into existence and continues to serve as its Secretary of the Board. In 2016–2017, he became AUK’s first Provost, and after that he has occasionally stepped in as Acting President to ensure continuity of leadership.

In addition to his role on the Board, Dr. Issa serves as Chair of the Middle East Peace and Security (MEPS) Forum – a distinguished platform hosted at AUK that brings together leading academics, business executives, and policymakers to tackle the region’s most pressing challenges and put forward practical, solution-driven recommendations.

Beyond AUK, Dr. Issa has built a distinguished academic and leadership career. He was the Founding Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Soran University (2012–2013) and has taught structural engineering at leading universities in Kurdistan – including the University of Duhok, Salahaddin University, and AUK – as well as at Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Issa’s scholarly interests lie in biomechanics and structural optimization, and he is an adjunct researcher at the University of Memphis (USA). His academic contributions include numerous articles, research papers, and keynote addresses at international conferences.

His leadership extends globally:

  • Appointed as a program evaluator by ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) in 2019, assessing engineering programs worldwide.
  • Designated by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) as a peer evaluator for institutional accreditation.
  • A founding member of the Kurdistan Accrediting Association for Education (KAAE), established by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in 2022.
  • Board Chair of the Kurdistan-America Student Friendship Organization, which he co-founded in 2003.

Dr. Issa earned his B.S. in Civil Engineering (2002) and M.S. in Structural Engineering (2006) from Salahaddin University. In recognition of his excellence, he received the Prime Minister’s Merit Scholarship to pursue his Ph.D. at Nottingham Trent University (UK), where he completed his doctorate in Structural Engineering in 2010.