Strategic Plan for the Department of Digital Media 2024-2025
Warith Al-Anbiyaa University University (Peace Be Upon Him)
College of Media - Department of Digital Media
**The Strategic Plan for the Department of Digital Media**
M.M. Ali Talib Radhi
Head of the Quality Assurance and Academic Accreditation Division
M.D. Amjad Ali Kadhim
Quality Assurance and Academic Accreditation Committee
Introduction
M.D. Muhammad Jamal Al-Taf
Dean of the College of Media
Strategic Planning Overview
Strategic planning is defined as the process that involves analyzing the status of any organization to achieve strategic objectives. Strategic planning can also be considered a long-term vision for the detailed plans that must be put in place to achieve future goals. The meaning of planning is reflected in thinking about the future and looking at the long term, answering questions such as: Where are we going? How will we get there? And what resources do we have that qualify us to reach what we want?
Planning based on scientific foundations is important for building institutions by motivating human, material, and moral resources, and employing them towards achieving the organization's visions and goals according to a programmed and specific timeline. This is done through genuine partnership with all affiliates and stakeholders, and clear partnership mechanisms. Then, approving this plan and adhering to it with the directives of higher authorities represented by the General Secretariat of the Holy Husseini Shrine, Warith Al-Anbiyaa University (PBUH), and the College of Media in building plans during the planned period. The Department of Digital Media has developed plans that aim to anticipate the future in developing the administrative and academic workflow of the department according to scientific foundations in order to improve the academic and professional level of faculty members and students in the college and department to the required levels, and to provide supporting services for the academic process, prepare students, and raise their scientific and professional competence in the field of digital media, and the extent to which the local market accepts graduates. The Department of Digital Media derives its strategic value by relying on the experience of the teaching staff and their level of competence. The Department of Digital Media adopts a set of values that are the basis of its work, including diligence in performing its scientific mission with honesty and perfection, fairness in the distribution of tasks and integrity in the work, teamwork, transparency in performance and documenting department performance reports, its directions, and publishing them credibly through the college's electronic website and others, and answering all inquiries without delay. The Department of Digital Media held consultative sessions represented by members of the department council, which worked to mature the department's strategic plan. It included mechanisms and visions for the next five years, considering the department's origins, objectives, and vision, and seeking to enter global university rankings. In implementation of these directions, a strategic plan was developed for the period from 2024 to 2029.
Brief Overview of the Department of Digital Media
2- The Department of Digital Media was established according to Ministerial Order No. 17206 on 10/17/2024, in response to the needs of the labor market. It receives students from graduates of secondary school for the literary, scientific, and commercial branches, and specialized institutes related to the Technical Education Authority, and grants graduates a bachelor’s degree in digital media. The specialization of Digital Media is one of the most important specializations at the level of Iraqi, Arab, and international universities. This specialization is concerned with everything related to modern digital media and communication sciences. The core of this specialization's interest is working to master digital graphic design skills, cloud computing, and digital media editing. Its outputs are important inputs for media institutions, whether in the private or public sector existing inside and outside Iraq and achieves the university and college's mission by providing students with scientific expertise in the field of digital media.
Vision, Mission, and Main Objectives
Vision: Striving to achieve leadership locally, regionally, and internationally in developing the digital media system to meet the requirements of sustainable development and the needs of the labor market.
Mission: Qualifying and preparing leaders equipped with knowledge and technological skills in managing digital media institutions in line with the needs of the Iraqi, Arab, and international labor market.
Main Objectives: The department seeks to achieve its objectives through the following:
Graduating students equipped with the necessary knowledge, technological skills, and values in the field of digital media to meet the requirements of the labor market in local, Arab, and international environments.
Building a research identity and encouraging innovation and creativity to meet the requirements of sustainable development.
Strengthening the culture of scientific research in accordance with solid and global research trends.
Linking the department's program with the community through building partnerships and effective community initiatives.
Methodology for Preparing the Strategic Plan for the Department of Digital Media
3- Strategic planning aims to set clear goals based on the department's vision, mission, and objectives, and to work to achieve them within a specified time period under the possible human and financial resources so that the future state can be reached. Believing in the importance of planning and its vital role, the Department of Digital Media, with the participation of those concerned, developed a long-term strategic plan 2024-2029, which leads the department from its current position to what it aspires to reach and what achieves its future vision and general objectives through the optimal investment of strengths and available opportunities on the one hand, and overcoming weaknesses and threats on the other, while ensuring that the department is moving in the right direction. The department's strategic plan generally depends on the method of the current situation - the goal - the path.
Analysis of the Internal and External Environment
The following is a clarification of the strengths and weaknesses of the Department of Digital Media:
Strengths
Qualified and experienced faculty members.
Diverse and multiple educational programs that are described, documented, and consistent with the educational program in the Department of Digital Media in the College of Media - University of Warith Al-Anbiyaa University.
The organizational structure is appropriate and suitable and is based on community participation.
A selection of faculty members in the department holds scientific titles to the degree of (Assistant Professor, Lecturer, Assistant Lecturer) and are holders of doctoral and master's degrees.
The leadership style is democratic and supports thinking towards quality.
Weaknesses
Weakness in English language for most of the department's lecturers.
Weak level of students accepted from pre-university education (preparatory stage).
The need for more financial allocations to purchase modern digital devices in the field of digital media, such as computers and smart cameras.
Opportunities and Policies
4- There are many opportunities available that the Department of Digital Media seeks to exploit and achieve in the coming years:
In the field of education and learning, diversifying teaching methods such as self-learning and interactive learning.
Developing and improving the skills and capabilities of faculty members through the electronic educational revolution.
Increasing participation with institutions and the external community through communication via seminars and conferences inside and outside Iraq.
Encouraging the publication of scientific research in global fields and attending internal and external conferences.
Increasing scientific exchange with local and foreign universities and holding bilateral cooperative agreements with other universities.
Developing policies and procedures that clarify the method of dealing with cases in which student achievement is found to be lacking or there is a contradiction in the evaluation of their achievements, and the reasons leading to such shortcomings and how to address them.
Developing a policy for evaluating and reviewing the degree of application of academic programs by providing students with skills consistent with good professional practice that they will work in after graduation, to include surveys of graduates' opinions, employment data, the views of business owners, subsequent performance of graduates, as well as methods of preparing periodic reports on the results of the evaluation.
Designing special forms to evaluate the capabilities and skills of the department's graduates who work for business owners and specifying a mechanism for applying this evaluation.
Designing special forms to evaluate the skills graduates have acquired from their studies in the department or college and specifying a mechanism for applying this evaluation.
Challenges and Threats
The limited number of jobs allocated by government institutions for graduates.
The weakness of the private sector and, as a result, the limited employment opportunities for graduates.
Paths for Implementing the Strategic Plan
The department's vision is of a scientific university organization that balances education and training to raise the scientific and skill-based competence of its staff, takes into account the nature of reality and future aspirations, ensures high quality, and academic accreditation to contribute to improving education and learning at various stages of education.
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The department strives to graduate distinguished cadres and establish advanced scientific applications in various fields of digital media science and to provide high-quality community services to develop the environment and keep pace with scientific progress.
The Mission: The department is committed to working with a scientific methodology and institutional action within clear plans to achieve lofty goals in the academic and training fields in accordance with the requirements of quality assurance and academic accreditation, so that its outputs in the subject of digital media are more competitive and ambitious through providing science, knowledge, and skills, as it is committed to excellence in scientific research and implementing research projects that contribute to facing the challenges facing Iraqi society.
The Values that the Department Relies On: The department seeks to consolidate the values and principles that are consistent with the nature of our society and develop the capabilities of its graduates to become able to openness, co-existence, and communication with society, to absorb different cultures, encourage innovation and creativity, and develop the ability to make the ideal decision at the appropriate time, and that is within the framework of commitment to the thought of Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon them, and the directives of the supreme religious authority and the General Secretariat of the Holy Husseiniya Shrine in promoting community, educational, research, and professional ethics according to the following:
Ensuring justice, non-discrimination, and equality among all faculty members.
Ensuring equality among students in educational opportunities regardless of their social level.
Commitment to comprehensive quality standards in education, research, and development.
Ensuring freedom of opinion for faculty members, education, and students.
Cooperation and teamwork to complete all tasks.
Credibility and transparency in making decisions related to all aspects.
Department Objectives
Preparing distinguished and qualified scientific human resources to perform media, communication, and design functions.
Promoting scientific research to achieve scientific additions in order to enrich human knowledge.
Activating the developmental and pioneering role of the department in serving society and contributing to solving its problems.
6- Developing the role of the department as an educational institution in the field of specialized education with competitive ability.
Raising the efficiency and effectiveness of scientific research in the department and developing effective participation and cooperation with research institutions in the local, regional, and international community.
Providing a university environment committed to sound religious, social, and ethical values and based on justice, equality, and cooperation.
Encouraging enrollment in graduate studies for the department's graduates, especially outstanding ones.
The Department's Strategic Goals and Objectives
The most important strategic goals that the Department of Digital Media seeks to achieve can be summarized as follows:
First Goal:
Improving the quality of teaching and developing mechanisms that facilitate the continuous participation of all faculty members in scientific activities that ensure that they are aware of the latest developments in their field of specialization, so that they can help their students to be aware of these developments, as well as the policies and procedures that are binding in reflecting the teaching methods used, the learning outcomes that the department wants to develop in its students, and that the descriptions of courses and programs clearly show the teaching methods used in teaching these courses and programs and the specialized knowledge gained by the student, and the types of activities that the student performs, to develop creative thinking skills, the ability to solve problems, social skills, and responsibility, and the types of desired ethical behavior, language communication skills, mathematical skills, and the use of computers.
Second Goal:
Developing scientific research, attracting distinguished scientific competencies, and urging the development of their scientific degrees, and preparing scientific foundations for building courses, especially after approving the practical application system in Iraqi universities in general, and the new programs and describing them in accordance with the requirements of the general framework of national qualifications prepared by the Scientific Supervision and Evaluation Authority in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and applied globally for accreditation
7- Programs of the professional and specifications or skills required in the graduate of these programs and others of the standards set by professional and specialized accreditation societies worldwide.
Third Goal:
Strengthening the department's participation in serving and developing the community.
Developing a documented and approved plan for community participation.
Raising the level of satisfaction of community parties.
Fourth Goal:
Supporting students and graduates
Developing clear and announced policies for accepting, distributing, and transferring students
Developing a comprehensive annual plan for student activities
Establishing a unit to serve and support graduates.
Mechanisms for Disseminating the Strategic Plan
Organizing workshops on the importance of strategic planning in general and the strategic plan of the college and department in particular and its role in activating the teaching and learning process and the fundamental improvement of the department.
Involving community parties in implementing the activities.
Publishing the department's strategic plan on the college's website.
Continuously updating the department's database, which includes accurate data on the elements of the educational system.
Updating and reviewing the plan and adopting it, and the plan will be updated and reviewed whenever the matter requires it.