Director of Middle East Centre at University of Oxford visits Birzeit University, discusses collaboration prospects

In the context of the long-standing collaboration between Birzeit University and the Middle East Centre at St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, Dr. Eugene Rogan, director of the Middle East Centre, visited Birzeit University and met with Dr. Beshara Doumani, president of Birzeit University, and Dr. Ghassan Khatib, vice president for advancement, to discuss cooperation prospects and the latest academic updates at the university.

Dr. Rogan met with Dr. Amir Khalil, director of the External Academic Relations Office, and Dr. Munir Fakher Eldin, dean of the Faculty of Arts, and discussed promoting collaboration through joint research projects, academic visits and the George Antonius Birzeit Visiting Fellowship offered by the Middle East Centre.

The fellowship was established by Soraya Antonius in memory of her father through an endowment that supports Birzeit University scholars in social sciences and humanities by providing the opportunity for them to conduct research for six months at the University of Oxford.

Through the fellowship, Dr. Haya Abuhussein, assistant professor at the Department of Languages and Translation, was able to develop her research in a rigorous and rich environment, collaborate with distinguished scholars, attend various lectures and meet regularly with eminent academics. Lana Naser, instructor at the Department of Architectural Engineering, was awarded the fellowship for the current academic year and is conducting her research in architecture at the center.

The fellowship will be awarded to another Birzeit University scholar next year. Scholars are selected by Birzeit University based on academic and research criteria, centralizing innovative approaches to Palestinian studies and its links to global themes.

In a meeting with the Advancement Department, Dr. Rogan explored collaborating with the department by providing training programs at the University of Oxford to build employee capacities.

During his visit, Dr. Abuhussein took Dr. Rogan on a campus tour and discussed her experience and research at the Middle East Centre.