In this series of interviews, we meet the finalists shortlisted for the 2024 Women in Architecture and Construction Award. These women have made outstanding contributions to architecture and the built environment across the Near East and North Africa. The award features two categories: Rising Star and Woman of Outstanding Achievement.
This interview features Dr Rozhen Kamal Mohammed-Amin, an architect and academic with expertise in digital heritage. She serves as President of the Cultural Heritage Organisation and Co-Director of the Nahrein Network at UCL. With over 20 years of professional experience, Rozhen has worked on heritage and academic projects in Iraq and the wider region countries. Her research and leadership in heritage preservation have earned her international recognition, including funding from the UK, USA, and EU for several projects in Iraq and the Middle East.
In this interview, Dr Rozhen discusses her interdisciplinary work in heritage preservation, focusing on how VR and AR technologies enhance engagement and empathy. She will also touch on her international collaborations and her efforts to support young professionals in digital heritage conservation.
Could you give us a brief introduction about yourself and your work?
I am an architect and academic passionate about exploring how the built environment intersects with human perception and technology. My work spans multiple disciplines, reflecting my interest in innovative, cross-disciplinary research.
After earning a BSc in Architectural Engineering from the University of Sulaimani and completing my Master’s and PhD at the University of Calgary, I worked on several architectural and urban planning projects in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, including with the Ministry of Tourism and my co-owned design studio.
Upon returning to Iraq in 2016, I taught and supervised students at Sulaimani Polytechnic University, where I founded the first interdisciplinary Digital Cultural Heritage Research Centre in Iraq. My role as co-director of the Nahrein Network from 2020 to 2024 further expanded my work, allowing me to collaborate on international projects funded by the UK, USA, and the EU.
Tell us more about your current role and key responsibilities.
I currently serve as an associate professor and researcher at the Kurdistan Institution for Strategic Studies and Scientific Research (KISSR). This role allows me to focus on research, balancing academic responsibilities with deepening my research into digital heritage.
I co-founded the Cultural Heritage Organization (CHO), where I led a team primarily composed of women on community-centred projects funded by local and international sources.
I also serve as vice president of RASHID, an international network focused on safeguarding Iraq’s cultural heritage, and I am a member of UKRI’s International Development Peer Review College.
You’ve been at the forefront of many high-profile projects. Could you share a project where your leadership had a significant impact, and how it shaped the project’s success?
One of the most meaningful projects I led was the assessment of the “Nobody’s Listening” Virtual Reality (VR) project, which immerses users in the sights and sounds of the Yazidi genocide and the destruction of their heritage by ISIS in 2014.
We collaborated with Yazda and the Surround Vision company in the UK to develop the VR experience, and in 2019, I met Ryan D’Souza, the project’s founder, through an introduction from artist Piers Secunda.
I saw the scholarly potential in assessing the emotional impact of the VR experience. With support from local and international scholars and funding from the UN IOM and USAID, I led the comprehensive assessment. We gathered extensive quantitative and qualitative data from 127 participants across five cities in Iraq, conducting sessions in three languages.
The assessment significantly contributed to the project’s international recognition and its award for Social Impact in 2022. Through our lectures, presentations, and ongoing research, it has inspired many. The assessment also led to new opportunities, including the “Feel Like Me” project, an AR-based initiative aimed at raising awareness about hate speech against the Yazidi community. The report further opened doors, such as an invitation to assess a VR intervention for survivors of gender-based violence, though I was unable to participate due to workload.
Your work with Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) in heritage conservation is innovative. How have these tools enhanced your approach, and what long-term benefits have you seen?
VR and AR have revolutionised how I tell stories about heritage, enhancing engagement and fostering empathy across generations. These tools allow users to “feel” the past, which encourages empathy and helps promote heritage preservation across generations.
My fascination with history and storytelling began in childhood, and over time, I’ve developed my approach to using immersive technologies to connect people with tangible and intangible heritage. During my postgraduate studies, I realised how stories deepen emotional connections with places and people, shaping how we understand and experience the world. VR and AR enable us to create multi-sensory, emotion-evoking storytelling experiences that enliven the past, making it easier to understand the present and inform future decisions.
Collaboration has been key in your work, especially with networks like Nahrein and RASHID. Could you share a specific collaboration that stands out for you in terms of impact?
My collaboration with the Nahrein Network has been instrumental in advancing digital heritage research in Iraq. It began when I received their Visiting Scholarship and first Large Research Grant, which eventually led to my invitation to join the management committee.
Through this partnership, we’ve explored innovative projects addressing heritage preservation in Iraq, using digital tools to raise awareness and build local capacity. The collaboration allowed us to bridge gaps in resources and knowledge, and it played a crucial role in ensuring the sustainability of our initiatives even beyond my formal role as co-director. Although my tenure as co-director ended in 2024, the Network continues to strongly support our ongoing efforts.
The Digital Heritage Internship Program you lead supports young professionals in heritage preservation. How do you continue to support these graduates, and are there any success stories that stand out?
The Digital Heritage Internship Program (DHIP) has produced many success stories, and we continue to support our graduates in several ways. We involve them in public exhibitions and events to showcase their work, as well as provide opportunities to engage with local and international visitors. This helps raise their profiles and build confidence in the value of their interdisciplinary projects.
We also offer periodic workshops that focus on technical skills and teamworking, which are essential in the evolving field of VR and AR. Graduates are mentored to apply for scholarships and project grants, ensuring that they continue to grow their expertise. One notable success is how several graduates have volunteered with the Cultural Heritage Organization, taking the initiative to further their research and impact on heritage preservation in Iraq. We are also working on expanding the linguistic accessibility of their projects to reach broader audiences, following the feedback we’ve received from non-Kurdish-speaking visitors.
Balancing academic research with hands-on heritage conservation can be challenging. How do you approach adapting academic theory to real-world situations, and could you share a time when this approach led to a new direction in your work?
Initiating research in Iraq’s volatile economic and political environment has been a constant challenge. During the financial crisis, when academic working hours were limited, I founded the Digital Cultural Heritage Centre with no infrastructure and minimal resources. Persistence and international collaborations allowed me to keep moving forward.
These daily obstacles—lack of resources, distractions, and instability—require constant energy and determination, but they have only strengthened my resolve to continue pursuing interdisciplinary digital heritage research in Iraq.
Can you share a challenge you overcame in your career that, looking back, highlights your persistence and determination?
Pursuing long-term research and staying focused amidst all the work environment distractions and volatility of Iraq was/is one of those challenges I must overcome daily. It requires persistence, determination, and lots of energy and headspace.
What projects are you most excited about, and how do you see your practice evolving?
I’m excited about all of our current projects, especially the potential to integrate AI and neuroscience tools into our VR and AR experiences. These innovations will allow us to measure user emotions and brain activity, which will strengthen the empirical foundations of our heritage projects.
I’m also eager to expand our project-based internship programs, equipping local youth with the digital skills needed to thrive in the 21st-century job market and grow the creative industries in Iraq.
What advice would you give architecture students or young professionals starting their careers?
Zaha Hadid said, “there are 360 degrees, so why stick to one?”. Inspired by her outside-the-box thinking and the growing blend of the physical and virtual worlds, I encourage architecture students and young professionals to integrate virtual content into their architectural design toolkit as they create (physical or virtual) environments that meet human needs, enhance experiences, and contribute to societal well-being.
Looking back on your career and the work you’ve done, what do you hope your lasting impact will be, both within your field and on the communities you’ve served?
My ultimate personal and scholarly goal and hope is to create environments and human experiences that evoke cross-generational and cross-cultural empathy, which are essential for achieving (or getting close to) the elusive peace in Iraq and world. Called an “empathy machine” by some, an immersive medium like VR can mediate a strong sense of presence and embodiment that enables stepping into the shoes of others and seeing, hearing, and feeling with their senses.
Meet our other finalists: Amal Abuelhawa, Hana Alamuddin, Ula Merie, Hala Asslan, Lebriz Atan Karaatlı, Eman Assi, Sumaya Dabbagh, Rania Kaadan, Shatha Safi.
Meet Our Finalists series is a compilation of interviews with those who have been shortlisted for our awards. Rozhen Kamal Mohammed-Amin is a finalist for the Women in Architecture and Construction Award, which recognises women who have made outstanding contributions to architecture and the built environment across the Near East and North Africa.