The College of Mass Communication at the University of Baghdad held an extended meeting today with the training staff supervising the intensive applied program that the College is preparing to launch in the coming days. This initiative is part of the College’s strategic plan to develop students’ practical skills and link theoretical study with field applications, in cooperation with the Department of Media and Government Communication and the Qualification and Employment Unit.
The program targets students in the early stages of the three academic departments—Journalism, Radio and Television, and Public Relations—with the aim of equipping them with advanced professional skills in editing, news production, and media creation.
The program includes four main modules, each supervised by a group of media professionals and practitioners from local and international media institutions. The first module focuses on news production in news agencies, covering the fundamentals of news work, professional editing standards, and news writing mechanisms. The module will be taught by Amir Al-Nuaimi, journalist at Alsumaria News Agency; Zaid Shabr, Editor-in-Chief at Al-Ahd News; and Hisham Al-Fakher, Media Director at the College of Mass Communication.
The second module focuses on television news writing and bulletin production. It emphasizes the skills needed to prepare and compose news for television broadcasts, the structure of news bulletins, and the distribution of roles within the newsroom. The module will be taught by Mohammad Al-Khuzaei, Director of UCMT Iraq; Ahmad Safa, News Director at Al-Oula TV; and Ammar Abdul-Zahra, News Secretary at Al-Rai Al-Aam Radio.
The third module covers the preparation of reports and television investigations, training students in writing field reports, producing filmed investigations, and visual storytelling techniques. It is supervised by Ghassan, Program Director at UCMT Iraq; Saqr Munther, Director of Correspondents at Al-Oula TV; and Tahseen Taha, Correspondent at Al-Arabi International Channel.
The final module focuses on mobile journalism, photography, and editing using modern techniques. It enables students to produce media content using smartphones and advanced digital technologies for filming and editing. The module will be conducted by photography trainers Haider Al-Baghdadi and Mohammad Al-Alwan.
During the training staff meeting, the Dean of the College of Mass Communication, Professor Ammar Taher, emphasized that “this program is part of the College’s strategic plan to bridge with media institutions, aiming to refine students’ skills and prepare them according to the needs of the media job market.”
He added, “The program represents a promising initiative that will be continuously developed, with an expanded pool of trainers including distinguished media professionals from various local and Arab institutions, in order to integrate practical training with theoretical lessons and enhance their synergy.”
Professor Taher also highlighted that “the College possesses advanced infrastructure, including studios, smart classrooms, and editing and audio labs, in addition to its affiliated institutions such as the College Radio and the University Media Newspaper.”
He also noted that “the College is currently working on relaunching a student-run training news agency to serve as an open, practical platform for producing news, reports, and bulletins, supporting the College’s role as a comprehensive production and training environment.”
This training program comes within the framework of a fruitful collaboration between the College and several media institutions and national training centers. It aims to build the capacities of media students and provide them with hands-on experience, preparing them to enter the job market after graduation, in line with the University of Baghdad’s goals of developing applied education and strengthening the connection between universities and society.
