Gulan Gawdan is the Library Director at The American University of Kurdistan (AUK), where she has worked since October
2016. She leads library planning, collection development, and modernization, and delivers information and artificial
intelligence (AI) literacy sessions to support student research.

She holds a Master of Science in Engineering Projects and Systems Management from Kingston University London, where her
research examined the use of AI to improve operational efficiency in higher education published through ProQuest, and a
Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Duhok. She has also earned Continuing
Education Units (CEUs) in Civic Engagement and Leadership from George Mason University in Virginia, United States.

Her professional training supports her work in library management and services. It includes courses in Collection
Maintenance, Collection Development Policy, and Building a Collection from the Idaho Commission for Libraries; AI for
Library Instruction from Library Juice Academy; and the APM Project Fundamentals Qualification and Risk Management
Essentials through ILX Group.

Ms. Gawdan was a 2022 Community Engagement Exchange Fellow with IREX under the theme of open and participatory
government. During her fellowship, she completed a practicum with the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP) in Washington, D.C., where she worked on programs advancing access to quality education. She presented on the development of the AUK library at the 2024 AMICAL Conference and on gender equity in STEM education at George Washington University, and has mentored women and girls interested in STEM education and careers.