The University of Kurdistan - Hawler (UKH) is an educational institution in Erbil (Kurdish: Hawler), northern Iraq, the fifth university located in the Kurdistan Region. It was established in 2006. The University of Kurdistan is a new initiative in the federal region of Kurdistan in Iraq, funded by the Regional Government of Kurdistan. It currently offers degrees in Economics and Finance, Management and Business Studies, Politics and International Relations, Sociology and Social Policy, Modern History and Information Technology, but in the coming years intends to expand to teach humanities and natural sciences as well. The medium of instruction and research is English. The University of Kurdistan - Hawler (UKH) was funded by the former Prime Minister HE Nechirvan Barzani and founded by Prof. Abbas Vali in 2006. The University of Kurdistan has started its academic activities with five departments in its first draft of academic organisational structure; in addition to the English Department. Its main goal is to develop existing skill of English language of local students, whose major language is Kurdish.