Roundtable Held for Representatives of Higher Education Support Program

On February 27, 2014, a roundtable was held at Birzeit University for representatives of the higher education support program at the Open Society Foundations in order to discuss ways to support the development of higher education in Palestine in general, and Birzeit University in particular.

The meeting was attended by university president Khalil Hindi, Vice President for Academic Affairs Henry Giacaman, External Academic Relations Officer Dolly Kaibni, Faculty of Education Dean Maher Hashweh, Institute of Women's Studies director Laura Khalil, Eileen Kuttab, and Ammar Dweik, as well as former minister of higher education Naim Abu al-Hummos. Participants from the Open Society Foundations were Program Manager of the Academic Fellowship Program Eniko Kovacs, Higher Education Support Program Manager Olena Vinareva andHigher Education Support Program Goran Buldioski Acting Co-director, in addition to director of the regional office in Jordan, Ammar Abu Ziad.

Participants discussed the possibility of cooperating with the university to find solutions to the problems of higher education, including financial obstacles, which have impacted the quality of education and the quality of higher education graduates. They have also discussed the possibility of benefiting from the fellowships and scholarships provided by the Open Society Foundations.  The meeting concluded by agreeing to follow-up on the university’s suggestions, and to develop mechanisms of support with the Open Society Foundations, in line with local needs.