Call for Applications

We are pleased to announce a call for applications for travel fellowships for the first Fobzu Palestine-UK Academic Links Seminar (PALS) programme. The Fobzu Palestine-UK Academic Links Seminar (PALS) will take place at the end of June 2023, and consists of a 5-day visit to Palestine by academics based at UK universities to undertake an educational itinerary of roundtable discussions, visits to Palestinian higher education and cultural institutions and meetings with Palestinian colleagues.

PALS Travel Fellowships are designed to address the urgent need to build educational links and promote mutual understanding between UK and Palestinian faculty. Through participation in the programme, PALS Travel Fellows will enhance their understanding of the Palestinian higher education sector, its achievements and challenges and develop their awareness of the structural impediments to education for Palestinians living under occupation and in exile. The priority of this programme is to achieve a tangible contribution to building networks and links between UK and Palestinian colleagues and institutions, so Fellows will be expected, encouraged and supported to develop projects and activities that achieve this. 

Fobzu will cover all accommodation, group dinners and travel costs for the duration of the 5-day seminar programme. However, participants will be expected to cover their own airfare and transfers, as well as any further personal expenses.

Additionally, PhD students and early-career academics will be considered for a limited number of £500 stipends, to cover flights, awarded on the basis of the quality of their application.

Eligibility:

We invite applications from PhD students, early-career academics and established colleagues alike, and seek to include individuals from a range of academic disciplines. Applicants must be enrolled or teach at a UK higher education institution and wish to work on establishing academic links with Palestinian colleagues and universities. 

Criteria for Selection:

The key outcome of the seminar is the establishment of long-term relationships that can support the delivery of quality higher education to Palestinian students living under military occupation. Applicants are invited to provide an indication of areas of academic collaboration and exchange they would be interested in pursuing – preliminary ideas as well as more developed proposals are welcome. Travel Fellows will be selected on the basis of the creativity and potential sustainability of the initiatives proposed in their application. Ideas may take a variety of forms, from guest lectureships, joint academic supervisions, student exchange, seminar programme or other creative means of building and developing long-term links. 

Applications will also be assessed according to the priorities and capacity of stakeholders based at Palestinian higher education institutions. Preference will be given to those who have not previously visited Palestine.

Applicants must:

• be a PhD student or full-time faculty member at a recognised UK university from any academic discipline
• have a demonstrated interest in Palestine and/or international academic collaboration
• ​​be interested in and willing to work on building academic relations between their institution and Palestinian academic institutions
• have little or no previous travel experience to Palestine
• be willing to integrate their experiences from the seminar into their own teaching, research and/or other projects
• be willing to use their skills and experience to benefit Palestinian colleagues and institutions
• become a ‘Fobzu Friend’. Please see org/fobzu-friends/ for more information.

Questions and Further Information:

Please direct any questions about PALS Travel Fellowships to pals@fobzu.org and we would be more than happy to discuss your application.

About Fobzu

Fobzu (Friends of Birzeit University) is a UK registered charity dedicated to supporting access to education for Palestinians. Since its founding in 1978, Fobzu has worked to this end by providing scholarships to students in financial need, raising awareness about the barriers to education faced by Palestinians and building links between UK and Palestinian higher education.