Birzeit University Embrace Foreign Exchange Student from Italy

Three master’s students; Stephano, Eva and Francesco, from the University of Siena in Italy, received a three-month exchange opportunity through Erasmus+ Mobility Program. The students attended full-time classes alongside their Palestinian counterparts, and learned from the experience of the University’s professors.

Despite the obstacles towards building an international educational platform that has been stymied by strict Israeli restrictions on who can enter Palestine, Birzeit University has been seeking to expand its horizons through adopting cross-border, knowledge sharing and open border cooperation with universities around the world especially Europe.

Stephano, a second year master’s student at the International and Diplomatic Studies Program, is pursuing his dissertation in which he focuses on the effects of the communist party on the Palestinian Liberation Organization political parties (1948-1980). While Francesco, a second year master’s student in the history of philosophy program, is doing a research on the narration of the Palestinian Liberation Organization in Italian newspapers.

Both Stephano and Francesco agreed that staying in Palestine to collect data for their researches was very helpful in terms of exchanging ideas and interaction amongst like-minded researches, and other prominent professors.  They pointed out to the knowledge and data they have collected which will help them proceed with their researches.

Eva, a student in the Far-East Philosophy Program, enrolled in a number of programs about the Arab Society and the Palestinian culture. She said, “Inter cultural interaction is very important in my studies. Working and learning from other people about their cultures have enabled me to explore new ideas and prospects”.

The Director of the External Academic Relations Office Amir Khalil said that the university seeks to attract international undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students, and ensures that they receive a high-quality education and a satisfying campus and study experience.

“We are working on providing services and programs to enrich the experience of the international and domestic communities. We are dedicated to building and maintaining partnerships across the campus to ensure appropriate avenues for academic and professional success are available for international students and scholars”, Khalil concluded.

In the second semester of the academic year 2016\2017, Birzeit University hosted a foreign student from Estonia at the university’s Architecture Department.