About the Partnership
Al-Quds University and Brandeis University are engaged in a unique intercultural partnership that links an Arab institution in Jerusalem and a Jewish-sponsored institution in the United States in an exchange designed to build a Palestinian civic institution, provide education opportunities for students, factulty, and staff, and foster cultural understanding.
Unlike traditional academic exchange programs that focus on students and faculty, the Al-Quds/Brandeis relationship has different goals:
- improve the administrative and infrastructure capacities at Al-Quds, one of Palestine's nascent civic institutions;
- strengthen academics and offer opportunities for faculty, staff, and students at both institutions;
- educate the campuses about the advantages of cooperation, goodwill, and understanding.
The multi-year partnership is funded by a grant of nearly $500,000 from the Ford Foundation. The project has its roots in a week-long visit by Al-Quds President Sari Nusseibeh to Brandeis in 1997.
"This is an exciting partnership like no other in the world of academia," Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz said. "Through higher education, Al-Quds and Brandeis are working to bridge cultural divides that will make the world a better place.
"In forming a mutually beneficial working relationship, Al-Quds and Brandeis are modeling the kind of intercultural communication and cooperation that is vital to the success of any heterogeneous society, whether it be a university, city, or nation," Reinharz said.
During the initial phase of the partnership, which ran through December 2007, activities focused on initial administrative exchanges, academic exchanges, and documentation.
The administrative exchanges, which are designed to strengthen the Al-Quds infrastructure, focus on administration and finance, teaching and evaluation, and communications. In one example of an administrative exchange, Imad Abu Kishek, vice president for administrative and financial affairs at Al-Quds University, spent two years at Brandeis to develop a strategic plan for Al-Quds.
The academic exchanges allow faculty to conduct joint research projects and conferences and offer students the chance to join together and visit the other institution. As part of the academic exchange portion of the partnership, Brandeis hosted four second-year master's students from the American Studies program at Al-Quds University for two weeks in March 2006. In addition, eight Brandeis undergraduates joined with seven Al-Quds students for a Summer Institute in Turkey for ten days in August 2007. A second undergraduate exchange is scheduled for August 2008.
Brandeis and Al-Quds are jointly documenting the partnership's progress and outcomes through video and still images. This documentation will help to educate the campuses and the broader communities about the partnership and its benefits.
The partnership was awarded another grant by the Ford Foundation to carry project activities through December 2009. More recently, activity has focused on effective teaching and learning projects, led by a team of Brandeis and Al-Quds faculty from across disciplines. Brandeis and Al-Quds University faculty are working together on issues of assessment, pedagogy, and curriculum development.