Dilan Majid Rostam

Dr. Dilan Majid Rostam is an academic leader with nearly two decades of experience in higher education reform, digital transformation, and institutional development across the Kurdistan Region. As Director of the Commission on Higher Education at KAAE, he oversees the strategic formulation and implementation of accreditation standards, with a strong emphasis on institutional quality, accountability, and academic excellence.

Dr. Rostam holds a PhD in Digital Collaborative Integrated Design from the University of Nottingham and an M.Sc. from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. Throughout his career, he has held a range of senior academic and administrative positions, including Vice President for Scientific Affairs at Koya University, Vice President at Bayan University, and President of Knowledge University. He has also served on several higher education boards under the Ministry of Higher Education.

Prior to his current role, he was the Digital Transformation and Policy Advisor to the President of the University of Duhok. A committed scholar and advocate for research excellence, Dr. Rostam is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of ARO – The Scientific Journal of Koya University, the first academic journal in Iraq to be indexed by both Clarivate and Scopus. He also led the development of ZankoLine, Kurdistan’s pioneering digital university application platform, which has significantly enhanced access to higher education across the region.

At KAAE, Dr. Rostam is spearheading a transformative agenda aimed at embedding a culture of quality assurance, fostering innovation, and aligning the region’s higher education sector with global standards. His leadership continues to shape the development of sustainable, future-ready academic institutions in the Kurdistan Region.