Event 11th April – Education under siege: The experience of universities in Gaza

In this talk, Dr Mona Jebril will discuss her doctoral research on the impact of the siege and conflict on higher education in Gaza. Her presentation will explore the recent history experienced by Gaza universities and will also examine how this is evolving in the shifting socio-political context of the Arab world. The lecture is based on Dr Jebril’s original research on the development of Palestinian higher education within the broader regional context of the Arab Spring from a Palestinian perspective.

Mona Jebril lived, studied and taught in the occupied Gaza Strip for more than 22 years. She is currently a Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge, working on a Global Challenge Research Fund project, which aims to build sustainable capacity, partnerships and research on health in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Palestine. In 2017, Mona completed her PhD in Education from the University of Cambridge, as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. Previously, Mona studied completed an MSc in Higher Education at the University of Oxford where she won the Said Foundation Second Prize for academic and personal achievement. Dr Jebril has a significant experience as a teacher and trainer at state schools and as a lecturer at two of Gaza’s universities. She is also a co-founder of two centers and a scholarship programme in Gaza. Mona has produced four films from her PhD thesis, and has written a number of articles for academic journals, blogs and newspapers.

Nita Sanghera is Vice President of the University & College Union (UCU) and Access to Higher Education lecturer at Bournville College. She is the first black woman to be elected to the post of UCU Vice President.

This event is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Estate of the Late Sarah Hayward and Interpal.