UNESCO CHAIR For Inter-Religious Dialogue Studies in The Islamic World
Dr. Alaa Shatnan took part in the in-person symposium organized by the University’s Psychological Guidance Division at the outset of the new academic year, in collaboration with the Psychological Guidance Unit at the College of Languages, on Thursday, September 18, 2025. The symposium bore the title: “The Importance of Guidance in the University Community: An Ethical and Academic Perspective.”
The session was moderated by Dr. Israa Al-Akraawi, Head of the College’s Psychological Guidance Unit, and commenced with a lecture delivered by Dr. Haidar Hassan Al-Yaqubi, Head of the University’s Psychological Guidance Division and faculty member at the College of Education for Women. His lecture examined the current state of psychological guidance at the University of Kufa and explored mechanisms and strategies for its development in keeping with the needs of the present stage.
This was followed by a lecture from Dr. Nabil Muslim Al-Moula, faculty member at the College of Jurisprudence, who discussed the concept of guidance, its significance, and its unique place within Islamic Shari‘a, grounding his exposition in Qur’anic verses and Prophetic traditions that lay the foundations of this principle.
From his side, Dr. Alaa Shatnan underscored the vital importance of the practical dimension of guidance, particularly through sustained interaction between professors and students, and through attentive listening to students’ concerns and difficulties—however trivial they might appear to educators—since such issues inevitably reverberate in students’ conduct both within and beyond the university setting. He further stressed the necessity of convening awareness-raising workshops, led exclusively by specialized psychologists, for academic staff and educational counselors at the beginning of each academic year, to equip them scientifically and professionally for addressing students’ challenges and aspirations.
The symposium concluded with several key recommendations, chief among them the reinforcement of communication channels with students through electronic means that safeguard their privacy, and the institutionalization of continuous guidance by adhering to scheduled advisory hours officially adopted in academic departments.
