Session
â Included for all participants
Amid the destruction of Gaza's universities and the continuing constraints on Palestinian higher education, international collaboration remains both possible and essential. This session will showcase active collaborations, from Erasmus+ projects to research and institutional partnerships, guided by the priorities set by the Emergency Committee of Universities in Gaza and the wider Palestinian higher education sector.
Omar Shweiki is Director of Friends of Palestinian Universities. His work focuses on strengthening equitable international academic partnerships and supporting the resilience of Palestinian higher education institutions. He previously served as Acting Director of the Kenyon Institute in East Jerusalem, a British Academy-supported research centre, and has worked closely with Palestinian universities across teaching, research and institutional leadership.
Amir Khalil is the Director of the National Erasmus+ Office in Palestine and an Associate Professor at the Department of Law, Faculty of Law and Public Administration at Birzeit University. From 2016 to 2023, he served as Director of both the External Academic Relations Office and the Grants and Contracts Office at Birzeit University.
Dr. Khalil is also a research fellow at the Centre of Private and Economic Law, Faculty of Law and Criminology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Belgium. He earned his PhD in Law from the same center at VUB in 2013. His academic background includes a Master’s degree in EU International Relations and Diplomacy Studies from the College of Europe (Bruges, 2012), an LL.M. in International and European Law from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (2008), and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Arab American University in Palestine (2007).
He has led and participated in various EU-funded projects and has contributed to numerous local and international conferences.
Dr Ahmed Abu Shaban is an agricultural economist and scholar of higher education resilience, food systems, and crisis recovery in Gaza. He is Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine at Al-Azhar University in Gaza, Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University, and Adjunct Professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University. His research focuses on the socioeconomic impacts of war and occupation on Palestinian agriculture, food security, climate resilience, and the production of knowledge under conditions of destruction. He is a founder member of the Emergency Committee of Universities in Gaza and has been actively involved in documenting and responding to the systematic destruction of Gaza’s higher education sector. His recent work examines scholasticide, the rebuilding of Palestinian universities, and the ways in which the destruction of education also affects agricultural, environmental, and community-based knowledge systems. Dr Abu Shaban has contributed to academic, policy, and public discussions on Gaza’s food system, higher education, and recovery, including through collaborations with universities, international organizations, and civil society partners. His recent publications and public scholarship address scholasticide, resilience, food insecurity, and the struggle to sustain Palestinian higher education during and after war.
