Organizational Details

GU Background

Gaza University (GU) is an independent national university, and part of a wider Palestinian university education system. It was established in Gaza City to be an academic beacon that provides educational services for scientific and professional development and enhancement of the Palestinian society. It specializes in higher education and scientific research, including studies in Computer Science and Information Technology, Administrative and Financial Sciences, Communication Sciences, Languages and Translation, Education, and Law.

On July 18, 2007, Gaza University initially earned recognition as a new higher education institution accredited by the Ministry of Higher Education. On January 27, 2008, the University received the final recognition from the Ministry of Higher Education to become a new institution of higher education in the academic year of 2008/2009. Later, it proceeded with the accreditation of its faculties and announced programs.

The philosophy of the university is in accordance with that of higher education in Palestine and in line with modern systems in the world's top universities, promoting the interests and goals of educational, cultural, social and economic development of the Palestinian people through educating the Palestinians and enhancing their abilities and skills.

Gaza University follows the best Arabic and international academic models in university education, where science and applied research are appreciated and given major importance, and effective and active learning for the students is encouraged. Admission is offered to all qualified students on the basis of their academic records, abilities and interest in learning, that go in line with the philosophy of institution's vision, core values, mission and objectives.

Gaza University greatly appreciates the role of English in the modern world economy, so it is used intensively in its academic programs.

The University supports practical and independent education, so that each student obtains the skills necessary to excel and progress in his or her career.

The university aspires to progress and become one of the best universities in Palestine. Achieving this high endeavor will require that the university should have highly qualified faculties and staff, facilities of good quality and well- developed curricula.

The university works in a constructive environment where the students can achieve their academic goals and career plans. Such environment can help the faculties and staff achieve career goals through the university's philosophy, vision, core values, mission, objectives and annual plans.

The university programs adopt the academic credit - hour system. Also, independent learning for the students is a goal that the university is seeking to achieve through direct access to various sources of information, such as the traditional library, electronic library and information network. Students can use the information network to connect with their teachers and get any information they need.

Gaza University is an institution that considers education and learning as important tools. Faculties and staff are employed primarily on the basis of their ability to promote effective learning for students. The faculties and staff invest their interests and efforts to help students achieving their academic goals. Scientific research is of a high significance due to its practical value to the university and its academic programs.

According to modern methods, training plays an important role in the university's academic programs. The university provides training programs for the community the terms that commensurate with labor market needs and development requirements. It also aims to establish academic cooperative relationships with some of the most important European, Arabic and American universities, to exchange experiences, information and academics.

GU Mission

Gaza University strives to provide the community with distinguished graduates who are able to meet the needs of the community and contribute to the development, prosperity and welfare of the community. It provides teaching and learning mechanisms of high-quality, certified by the Palestinian Ministry of Higher Education, and carefully selected to fit into society's values, traditions and requirements. It encourages students to develop their own skills, and links them to what is happening in the orbit of their environment and beyond.

GU Vision

Gaza University is a leading university with various specializations, academic interests and research. It strives to become an outstanding educational beacon and an ideal national university; whose programs correspond to the international criteria in terms of quality of education and the application of scientific research. This will guarantee social, local and regional recognition. In addition, Gaza University is committed to meeting the criteria of the national and global academic accreditation. Within the context of this vision, Gaza University seeks to be a beacon that innovates and diffuses knowledge and supports the enhancement of vocational, professional and ethical skills for its students. It aims at providing academic services that serve the community, particularly at this challenging time. Creating tight links and bonds with other universities, colleges and the community, the University is committed to achieving its aspirations and meeting its challenges.

GU Objectives

The period of university education is one of the most crucial stages of education in a human’s life as it complements what has been achieved in primary and secondary education. Throughout this period, one’s personality is refined, and skills are enhanced so as to be qualified to start a career. We intend to offer the best of current technology to our students, and to employ the best educational methods. Thus, the technical and academic teams in the University decided upon the following objectives:

1. Enhancing the educational achievement of the students, and supporting their intellectual development, and providing them with an opportunity to gain experience within the system of academic education.
2. Equipping the students with vocational skills for future careers according to the country needs.
3. Diffusing knowledge by providing higher education opportunities and specialties in various fields of applied sciences, humanities, and arts, and in turn providing the country with specialists, technicians and experts indifferent branches of science.
4. Developing knowledge by encouraging and conducting scientific research. Assisting concerned authorities in solving the problems of the society and its related development issues and working to transfer the scientific knowledge into Arabic.
5. Enhancing students' personality and their behaviors and positively directing them to serve the community.
6. Improving the continuing education and outreach in various applied fields to serve the society, as well as to solve and avoid possible problems.
7. Preserving the features of the Arab and Islamic civilization and publishing its heritage, as well as maintaining the moral values of the Palestinian society.
8. Strengthening relations with Arab and international scientific universities and institutions.

Academic Programs

1. GU provides higher education services to approximately 3000 students in 7 Bsc (4 years) faculties:

1. Faculty of Engineering
2. Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology
3. Faculty of Communication and Languages
4. Faculty of Administrative and Financial Sciences
5. Faculty of Law
6. Faculty of Education
7. Faculty of Medical Sciences (Nursing Program).

2. Postgraduate Programs:

1. Public Relations and Media Program
2. Public Administration Program
3. Law
4. Teaching Methods Program / English Language Track

C. Intermediate Studies Programs

The University also has 12 Diploma programs (2 years) which are:

1. Managing and Automating offices.
2. Financial and Banking sciences..
3. Legal Secretariat.
4. Medical Secretariat.
5. Public Relations and Mass Media
6. Primary Education.
7. Software and Databases.
8. Graphic Design.
9. Pharmaceutical Assistant
10. Engineering Assistant.
11. Cinematography and Television.
12. E-Marketing.
13. Nursing

In addition, the university has opened this year a one year diploma in 20 vocational and technical programs relevant to the needs in the labour market.

A total of 140 full time qualified staff members distributed in the GU faculties. Gaza University follows the best Academic models, effective and active learning for the students.

GU Facilities and Resources

Besides the different majors GU offers, students will have the opportunity to use modern facilities and resources to enhance competetivess of its graduates in the local and international labor market through:

1. Acquiring the skills and expertise in all specialties through better curricula and better technologies, with a focus on practical and applied work.
2. Receiving lectures through innovative approaches that reduce the use of memorization in teaching. Courses and seminars will be augmented, which will enrich the subject on one hand, and increase personal involvement on the other hand.
3. Modern learning environment and open space for all students include advanced labs, library wih access to the international journals, and meeting and vedio conference halls.
4. Studying their courses with the focus on using English in teaching and learning, and studying by using books, foreign and international references and specialized periodicals.
5. Using computers. We will be ensuring that there is one computer for each student during the lectures and in the leisure time.
6. Providing new methods of learning through using the best modern information technologies in education by the faculty.

Gaza University Major Implemented Projects and Activities, from 2014 till now

1. Project Title:  Boosting Innovation in Curricula Development of IT Programs in Palestine (BIT-PAL).

Funded by:  Erasmus +  (European Union)

Project Duration:  3 years  (2018– 2021)

Overall Objective

The project, known as BIT-PAL, has the objective of implementing a creative approach to education that promotes critical thinking among undergraduate students.

 Specific Objectives:

• Identifying the specific needs and priorities of the local IT sector by evaluating the skills required for employment and job-related requirements.
• Enhancing the capabilities of IT academic staff members so that they can create and implement new curricula developed within the project.
• Designing career-focused curricula for computer engineering, computer science, and vocational training in IT specializations, aligning them with the identified needs and priorities.
• Establishing a framework for a collaborative network involving academic, professional, and official entities to share technical competencies in IT teaching methodologies and technologies.
• Developing professional training resources to support lifelong learning in areas relevant to the IT sector.

Achievement:

• Boost innovation in Curricula Development of information Technology Programs in Palestine
• promote a strong and sustainable information and communication Technology sector in Palestine to help resolve the existing developmental challenges and lessen unemployment among Palestinian youth.  
• Host a variety of capacity building initiatives covering soft skills and learning-to-learn strategies, researches and upgrading computer labs .
• Encourage individuals to start their own projects while provide them with the means to enhance the early staged of their businesses.

2. Project Title: Enhancing the Quality of Multimedia Program to Get Engaged in Game Industry (EMPEG)

Funded by:  World Bank/ Ministry of Higher Education

Project Duration:  3 years  (2019– 2022)

Budget Allocation:  $160,000

Project Overview

The primary goal of the project is to enhance the multimedia program at Gaza University by focusing on game development. The aim is to improve the employability of graduates and create new opportunities in the local and international markets.

The project's approach involves collaborating with experienced international firms to learn the science and methodology of game development. It includes building the capacity of the university's staff, developing a curriculum tailored to game development, installing appropriate equipment and tools, and providing training to students. The project leverages the expertise of international experts in this field to ensure the production of highly skilled graduates in game development who can successfully enter the market.

Overall Objective

To Develop the Multimedia Program at Gaza University towards Game Development to enhance graduates employability and open a new market for them locally and internationally.

Specific Objectives:

1. Exploit the local academic & private sector partnership to jointly enhance graduates in the game development industry.
2. Improve networking and collaboration between the local IT sector and the international IT sector
3. Identify the technical skills and knowledge that graduates should have to succeed in the computer games industry
4. Improve staff teaching and training capacity in computer games development.
5. Update study plan to respond to games industry market needs.
6. Boosting games development competencies in curricula content supported by textbooks and references
7. Provide multimedia program with new facilities to address game development needs.
8. Expand the multimedia graduates’ skills with new competencies to increase freelancing jobs opportunities
9. Enhance the multimedia graduates’ entrepreneurial and managerial skills to qualify them better to be successful startups

Achievements:

• Build strategic partnerships with leading local, regional, and international counterparts, focusing on joint projects, learning resources development, and pilot implementations of innovative approaches for increased competitiveness. The developed partnerships fall into four levels:
  • International Private Sector: to provide staff, students, and graduates with updated experience in the game development industry.
  • International higher education institutions
  • Local Private Sector: with ALTARIQ and Aura for integrated solutions to support the capacity building component for the academics and provide working space for graduates after the project, and conduct joint projects and training .
  • Academic level: with PTC which is considered a leading faculty in the field of multimedia.
  • Incubators: with PICTI to provide students support in preincubation phase during the project, and in the incubation phase after the project with the long-term partnership to implement the program for new graduates.
• Provide a successful model for linking the graduate to the market and enhances the university role in the process of employment and innovation.
• develop students' capacity by introducing new trends in games development and applying the updated curricula according to the labor market, which will enhance the employability of them after graduation
• develop the academic staff through a planned study tour to academic and professional institutions in Spain transfer knowledge and experience to  the students at GU
• Improved the GU and PTC infrastructure and improve the learning environment and by installing an advanced games lab
• open of the first program in Game Development in Palestine.

3. Project Title: MUSTADAMA CLEANTECH PROJECT

Funded by:  UNIDO/ EU

Project Duration:  3 years (2020 – to present)

Partners Universities:

Techno Park, Birzeit University, Al- Quds University and Gaza University

Project Overview:

“Promoting an Energy Sustainable Palestinian Industry – MOUSTADAMA” is a newly launched Programme by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Office of the European Union Representative (EUREP) in Jerusalem, in partnership with the Ministry of National Economy in Palestine (MoNE).

Given the unique context in Palestine where energy shortages and high costs have become a permanent reality for most SMEs, especially in the furniture, food, and metal among other sectors, this projects l focus both on:

1. improving the energy management and energy conservation practices at the enterprise-level and
2. increasing the electricity supply through renewable energy and combined heat and power applications. UNIDO is taking an “Energy Efficiency (EE) First” approach where EE interventions will be implemented first to reduce energy consumption before considering Renewable Energy (RE) options to meet the remaining supply gap.

The MOUSTADAMA project consists of four components:

Strengthen the policy and regulatory environment for RE/EE in the industrial sector:

The Program will support the operationalization and enforcement of the net metering scheme; facilitate the implementation of EE measures in the National Energy Efficiency Action Plan (NEEAP); and promote the development of policy guidelines for innovative RE supply solutions, including safety standards for biogas production.

Develop local capacity to design and implement RE/EE projects in the industrial sector, thus promoting green job creation in the energy sector:

The Program will train and/or certify over 400 RE/EE national experts, technicians, and industrial enterprise staff to further develop and support the local RE/EE industry in Palestine.

Create demand for clean energy technologies in the industrial sector, supporting the green economy   agenda:

The Program will enable 75 demonstration projects to showcase the benefits of EE and RE solutions in industrial enterprises. These demonstration projects will be financed with SUNREF and other financing facilities. The Program will also enable five pilot projects of innovative business models to de-risk investments in decentralized energy solutions and mini-grids. The success of these EE/RE projects will catalyze market uptake of RE/EE solutions in the industrial sector.

Foster innovation and entrepreneurship in the clean technology sector:

The Program will support 90 entrepreneurs and start-ups in developing innovative, locally driven EE and RE solutions and provide seed funding to 9 winners of the annual business innovation competition. New products and innovations developed will become available in the local and global markets.

List of Activities and Deliverables:

• National Cleantech Awareness Workshops & Webinars
• Cleantech Hackathons by
  • Mentorship Programs and Networks
  • Conducting Cleantech acceleration programs
  • Industrial linkages with entrepreneurs

Vocational Education and Training Center

The Vocational Education and Training Center was established 2020  by GU in order to prepare graduates and entrepreneurs to enter the labor force. The center targets 80 to 100 participants per year and provides to those training and capacity building activities taking into account the labor market needs.

Participants have the opportunity to obtain practical and technical skills in their field in addition to entrepreneurship. They receive interpersonal training and mentorship and are assisted by local and international experts that not only provide training but also ensure the sustainability of the business ideas.

Other Accomplishments

In addition to the above projects, Gaza Univerisy has implemented several activities and initiatives that aim in general at empowering female students and civil society women  groups to expand the scope of human rights protection for women and children and youth and to promote broad participation in building more effective human rights standards and procedures. GU  also continued to implement its various programs and launched several new projects and campaigns. It has strengthened its position among women's organizations and other social and governmental institutions in Gaza Strip and become widely known to the public at large. 

GU has conducted several introductory and intermediate level training courses in community and female empowerment, business awareness, how to start your business, and how to improve your business, soft skills, gender studies, women rights, early marriage, and violence against women  …etc.  Such trainings were provided as a result of conducting several focus groups sessions and researches to identify the priorities of these women in the fields of education, health, business, and professionalism. Although these training courses were very fruitful, they were undertaken on an ad hoc basis, as there were insufficient funds to sustain the interventions.

Some of achievements were :

1. Early marriage and violence against women, GU has engaged in one year duration program, funded by the Palesinte Bank in 20014.  The purpose of the program is to introduce a research design to identify the causes of early marriage and the violence against women, within the Gaza Strip, and to introduce a training  design sessions to eliminate all sorts of violence against women in all means
2. A series of workshops related to women issues such as, gender, self assertiveness and women rights have been conducted across the marginalized areas of the Gaza Strip.
3. At least 300 individual women provided with psychsocial assistance and  facilitated a support group  for women victims of violence and war. 
4. Different brochures, stickers and posters were produced to promote the public dissemination of many environmental health messages and women rights issues.

Proposed Plans for Establishing the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Gaza University

Introduction to the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FMS)

The future plans for establishing the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Gaza University involve the development of a specialized academic institution focused on healthcare education and medical research. The aim is to create a dedicated faculty that will train and produce highly competent healthcare professionals, doctors and nurses, to meet the growing healthcare demands in the Gaza Strip mainly and in Palestine generally.

The Faculty of Medical Sciences will offer a comprehensive range of undergraduate programs, including degrees in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and other allied health disciplines. The curriculum will be carefully designed to provide our students with a strong foundation in both theoretical knowledge and practical skills, ensuring their readiness to address the evolving healthcare needs of the Palestinian and international community.

In addition to academic programs, the Faculty of Medical Sciences will prioritize research in various health-related fields in cooperation with regional and international institutions. This will involve establishing state-of-the-art research facilities and promoting a culture of research among faculty members and students. Through innovative research projects, the aim is to contribute to the advancement of medical knowledge, improve healthcare practices, and address pressing health issues in the local context. This would be the first of its kind in aligning research with teaching medicines at Palestinian universities.

Collaboration with local healthcare institutions, hospit