The Palestine Educational Opportunity Initiative (PalEd)
In Gaza, every university has been bombed. Thousands of students and academics have been killed. And yet — amid genocide, starvation, and siege — Palestinian students continue to apply to universities around the world.
In August 2025, a group of Gates Cambridge Scholars at the University of Cambridge launched PalEd to support these students in accessing higher education opportunities abroad. Since then, the initiative has grown into a global network of 120+ mentors from leading institutions, currently supporting over 800 Palestinian students — most of them in Gaza — with their university and scholarship applications.
These students are applying under extraordinary conditions: no electricity, unstable internet, lack of visa biometric access, and constant threat to life.
And still, they are applying.
What PalEd Does:
1. Mentorship & Application Support
- Feedback on personal statements
- Help navigating country-specific admissions systems
- Support finding scholarships and navigating visa processes
2. Advocacy
- Calling on governments and universities to admit Palestinian students with offers
- Urging institutions to end complicity in policies that obstruct access to education
How You Can Help:
- Know a Palestinian student who needs support? Please share this with them: https://lnkd.in/evuWy4pQ
- Want to volunteer as a mentor or help coordinate efforts? Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/eVK74G3f
- Continue advocating for universities and governments to honor admissions offers and allow safe passage for students
Palestinian students have earned their places. Our job is to help remove the barriers that remain.