Sustaining Higher Education Under Scholasticide: Lessons from Virtual Fellowships in Gaza
At the Times Higher Education Digital Universities UK 2026 conference (14–16 April, Birmingham), Friends of Palestinian Universities’ Director, Omar Shweiki, joined Dr Basma Hajir, co-director of the Centre for International and Comparative Education (CIRE) at the University of Bristol, to deliver a joint presentation in a session titled “Research without borders: Virtual fellowships as a lifeline for academic communities under threat.”
The talk centred on virtual fellowships for Gaza-based academics, with a focus on the Gaza Education Research Virtual Fellowship (GERVF), a pilot project designed to help sustain academic work in Gaza. Hosted by CIRE at the University of Bristol, the fellowship emerged in response to calls issued by Palestinian academics and university leaders in Gaza. The discussion highlighted the tangible impact of the fellowship – not only in enabling collaborative research and producing joint publications, but also in strengthening morale and connection among scholars working under extreme conditions. As one fellow reflected, “The impact wasn’t only on me; it reached my whole community.”
The session also highlighted the growing recognition of models like GERVF as viable and scalable, with increasing interest in embedding such approaches across institutions in the UK and beyond. Referring to FPU’s Partnerships with Palestine (2025), Shweiki discussed practical steps universities can take to support Palestinian higher education through research collaboration, scholarships, and coordinated institutional action.
The session concluded with a call for the wider adoption of similar virtual fellowship models by UK universities, emphasising the importance of sustained academic solidarity to ensure that Palestinian faculty are supported to continue teaching and researching in the face of the devastating impacts of scholasticide.
Interested in learning more or developing a similar model at your institution?
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