Palestine Programme

In response to the systematic destruction of education systems in Gaza, the LSE Middle East Centre is establishing a programme of research and capacity-building, supporting Palestinian recovery and Palestinian higher education institutions, scholars and students. This comes against the backdrop of existential challenges over decades to the higher education system in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

Building upon the Middle East Centre’s research projects and partnerships in Palestine and in the region more widely, the Programme will generate research and foster long-term research and capacity-building relationships with universities and researchers in the oPt.

We are currently fundraising to support the Programme’s activities. We welcome approaches from those interested in contributing to the Programme in any way.

Programme Activities

  • Collaboration Research Projects: High-quality research will address rebuilding and recovery in Gaza, such as post-emergency damage assessments prioritising economic development needs, educational recovery and the restoration of key environmental services.

  • Policy-focused Research Projects: Multi-disciplinary teams of LSE and Palestinian scholars will undertake and publish research to inform policy needs identified by relevant governmental and non-governmental actors.

  • Visiting Fellows: Academics from Palestinian higher education institutions will be hosted at LSE to conduct research on Palestinian recovery. They will be supported by the extensive multi-disciplinary LSE community.
  • Student Scholarships: The MEC is supporting efforts to raise funding for financial scholarships for Palestinian students to study at LSE. The School has provided fully funded Palestinian scholarships for September 2025 entry at both the undergraduate level (see 'Eligibility' box) and postgraduate level. Applications are encouraged from Palestinian students who were resident in Gaza or the West Bank prior to commencing their studies at LSE or have been otherwise affected by the war and humanitarian crisis. 

For more information, please contact:

Kendall Livingston, Projects and Research Development Manager, at k.livingston@lse.ac.uk

Professor Michael Mason, Programme Director, at m.mason@lse.ac.uk.