The Co-operation between the University of Oslo and Palestinian Universities

The Co-operation between the University of Oslo and Palestinian Universities

Zajel / An-Najah National University Conference on: The Role of Higher Education in the Context of an Independent Palestinian State 7-9 Nov.1996 Late in 1994, a delegation from the University of Oslo visited seven Palestinian universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The objective was to prepare a substantial documentation for funding to the Norwegian Agency for Development Co­operation (NORAD), to strengthen the competence and capacity building of Palestinian universities and to strengthen the institutional linkages of higher education between Norway and Palestine. Twelve projects were proposed following the delegation tour, and so far four projects have been supported by NORAD: 1. Department of Special Education; a project in co-operation with An-Najah National University in Nablus, with which we have had co-operation since 1990; 2. Department of Political Science and the Institute for Human Rights. A conference on. citizenship, democracy and human rights, in co-operation with Bethlehem University; 3. Institute for General Practice and Community Medicine. Non communicable diseases with focus on diabetes. The project, implemented in co-operation with Birzeit University, focuses on training and research; 4. Institute for General Practice and Community Medicine. Building competence in epidemiology in Palestine, In co-operation with Hebron University and the Ministry of Higher Education. The last project, devoted to Building competence in epidemiology in Palestine, contains two parts: a research project with focus on health effects due to exposure to solvents in the working environment in the shoe industry, proposed by Dr. Awni Khatib, and a six-week course in project planning and epidemiological methods. It may serve as an example of co-operation which includes both a short- and a long-term perspective, providing for research, training and competence building. The short-term objectives concern procurement of advanced laboratory equipment and PCs. The Long ­term ones envisage long lasting research co-operation in advanced teaching and research. Competence building in epidemiology is of vital importance for planning a functional public health sector, as well as for describing the occurrence, etiology and therapeutic possibilities of diseases. The University of Oslo has now accepted two Palestinian PhD students in epidemiology under the «quota system», and a third has yet applied. Their research will be based on the comparative projects at Hebron and Birzeit universities. They will, as far as we know, be the first faculty members at PhD-level in epidemiology in Palestine, and the intention is to form a research and training centre in epidemiology in Palestine ­linked to one of the universities. The six-week course in Project Planning and Epidemiological Methods, which will be repeated annually for three years, will give basic knowledge in epidemiology to health institutions, hospitals, universities and health planners all over Palestine. During the course, the participants are planning epidemiological projects which will open for new research co-operation with the University of Oslo and new PhD-students. After some years, similar courses will be given by the Palestinians to the Palestinians, hopefully in a Palestinian State. I will close these remarks by once again looking to the beginning of my own university. In those form formative years, in a very poor country, the university proved that academic achievements in many fields are not primarily dependent on economic resources, but are first of all a result of active and free spirits and of the willpower and energy of dedicated human beings. This spirit that ran through the new Norwegian university and its intellectual surroundings in those days were profoundly strengthened by the national political revival that took place. And the growth of the university was at the same time an important part of the whole national building process. That is also the vital role of the Palestinian universities today.