A STUDENT who grew up in the Palestine-Israeli conflict has expressed his gratitude for the support received in Dundee thanks to a humanitarian scholarship.
Bayan Alhasani graduated yesterday at the University of Dundee after taking up a Humanitarian Scholarship, which granted him full tuition fees and a stipend for accommodation and living costs.
The 30-year-old thrived academically in his homeland, completing an undergraduate degree in civil engineering, despite going through the trauma of seeing his family house bombed on three separate occasions in the last 15 years.
The Palestine student took the University’s Humanitarian Scholarship to further his education abroad and has now been offered a PhD place to study the impact of climate change on water security in Scotland and other countries.
The student’s graduation comes in the middle of Refugee Week, the world’s largest celebration of the contribution, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary.
Dundee was last year awarded University of Sanctuary status, joining a network of institutions across the UK that support students displaced by humanitarian crises.
Alhasani is one of dozens of students from war-torn regions that joined the University over 2022-23 thanks to the award of a record number of Humanitarian Scholarships.
He was pleasantly surprised by the warm welcome received in Dundee after a difficult journey from Gaza, where he left behind his family and home.
He says: “At the time I started looking for scholarships, Gaza was under attack.
“We were also in the middle of a pandemic, I had lost my job, our home was partially destroyed, a lot of our savings had already gone into rebuilding it over the years: without a scholarship there was little chance of me being able to further my studies.
“I found out I had been accepted to study a Masters in Sustainability and Water Security at Dundee just as the 2021 war ended.
“I was met with kindness and had so many people in the University and elsewhere in the city help make me feel at home.
“I’ve spoken to other Palestinian students in the UK and the support they were given from their institutions doesn’t match what I received in Dundee.
“I am so happy and proud to be graduating from this University; my first graduation took place in the middle of a war, but this will be a peaceful and happy occasion.
“Even though my family will not be able to attend, there are people in Dundee who have become like family to me, and my friends will be coming along to graduation with me.”
