Welcome Speach

It gives me great pleasure to reach out to you today under these extraordinary circumstances that our beloved Gaza Strip has been enduring after more than two years of a devastating war that has spared neither people nor stone. I write to you not to recount the well-known stories of resilience and steadfastness that you have consistently demonstrated, but rather to stand tall together as we reflect on the many chapters of success and creativity that we have written side by side. Throughout this journey, we have remained committed to fulfilling our academic mission and upholding our noble values in the service of our community, despite all challenges and hardships.
Following the extensive destruction that affected all the buildings of our College’s main campus in Gaza City, once a destination for the creative and distinguished, a beacon of knowledge and learning, and a symbol of progress and civilisation, we faced an array of unprecedented challenges. These challenges were further compounded by the loss of a number of our dedicated colleagues from the staff of the University College of Applied Sciences, foremost among them Dr. Saeed Anwar Al-Zebda, the former President of the College and the captain of its ship.
These immense challenges, had we faltered in confronting them or raised the white flag of surrender, would have reduced the University College of Applied Sciences to a mere memory, vanished without return. However, through the sincere efforts of its devoted members across all fields of work, the College has shaken off the dust of war, risen above its wounds, and emerged from the ashes like a phoenix, proclaiming the rebirth of a pioneering institution of creativity and excellence.
This new beginning has been embodied in the resumption of the educational process through e-learning platforms during and after the war, the opening of a temporary campus in Gaza City, another in Al-Nuseirat in the Central Governorate, in addition to its permanent branch in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, fulfilling its sovereign role in supporting the advancement of university-level applied education.
Together, through the efforts of all the dedicated, we will rebuild the cradle of creativity and continue the journey of giving, because we are here to stay, and because Gaza will rise through the strength of its people, the brilliance of their minds, and the resilience of their unwavering will.