MOHE Study Leave System.

Built in partnership with AAU, this system was commissioned by the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education to manage one of its most consequential HR processes: the study break.

When a ministry employee wants to pursue a master's or PhD degree, they need official approval for a period of leave from their position. The decision isn't arbitrary — it's based on a set of criteria that weigh the employee's record, seniority, department needs, and other factors into a score. Previously, this process was manual, inconsistent, and slow. We replaced it with a transparent, automated system.

How It Works

An employee logs in and submits a study break application — entering their academic intention, target institution, and supporting information. The system then does the work:

• Automated point calculation — the system evaluates the application against the ministry's eligibility criteria and calculates a total score
• Eligibility determination — based on the score, the system determines whether the employee qualifies for the study break
• Transparent result — the applicant sees their score breakdown, understands exactly why they did or did not qualify, and can track their application status throughout the process

The Administration Side

Ministry HR staff and decision-makers have a dedicated dashboard to oversee all applications — reviewing scores, managing edge cases, generating reports by department, and maintaining the scoring criteria that power the engine.

Why It Matters

Before this system, the study break decision process was vulnerable to inconsistency — outcomes could vary depending on who reviewed the application and when. The automated scoring engine applies the same criteria to every applicant without exception, making the process fairer and fully auditable.