School of Infection & Immunity

A new initiative to support students in Gaza has officially launched following a strong response from colleagues across Life Sciences in the College of MVLS at the University of Glasgow.

Practical Resources for Gaza Students (PRGS) is an externally facing Moodle site established to share recorded practical teaching resources for ongoing online Life Sciences programmes delivered by the five Palestinian Universities in the Gaza Strip (PUGS).

The platform hosts materials such as laboratory demonstrations, fieldwork videos, virtual reality by proxy resources, and computer practicals.

These resources are designed to supplement lectures and tutorials that students continue to access locally, helping to address the lack of access to laboratories and fieldwork.

The launch follows a call issued to Life Sciences Course Coordinators and lecturers in November 2025, inviting colleagues to identify recorded practical teaching resources - many developed during the COVID period - that could be shared. 

The generous response from staff has enabled the creation and population of the Moodle site, marking a significant collective effort across the College of MVLS community.

The Moodle site was created by MVLS Education Hub colleagues Dr Lesley Hamilton (E-Learning Officer) and Bethany Mansfield (Administrative Assistant), both of whom will continue to curate and update the site as new resources are added.

The initiative is being led by School of Infection & Immunity (Sii) colleagues Professor Olwyn Byron and Professor Adnan Al-Hindi. 

Professor Al-Hindi was born in the Al-Shatti Refugee Camp in the Gaza Strip and completed his primary, secondary and undergraduate education there before moving to the UK to undertake a PhD in Medical Parasitology and Tropical Medicine at the University of Liverpool. 

He previously worked as a professor and researcher at the Faculty of Health Science at the Islamic University of Gaza before joining the University of Glasgow. His experience across both contexts has been central to shaping the project.

Professor Al-Hindi said: "We established the initiative one year ago to support Gazan students. During the war, all universities there were demolished and there are no practical sessions at this time.

"The goal was to gather practical resources from the University of Glasgow, as well as Glasgow Caledonian University, to help during this difficult situation.

"With the support of the UofG community, we were able to collect resources and establish an external platform to share them and, now, formally launch the initiative.

"I'm very pleased to have been able to engage in this initiative with my colleagues here at the University of Glasgow to support Palestinian universities in Gaza and provide their students access to resources that will continue their education.

"We have started with Life Sciences, but we intend to continue to engage with other faculties. This is a continuous process and all colleagues are invited to share resources via the Moodle site."

A Professor of Biophysics and former Sii Director of Education, Olwyn Byron has long championed innovative approaches to practical teaching and student support.

She added: "The purpose of this initiative is to share with the five Palestinian universities, who are continuing to teach students at undergraduate and postgraduate level, resources to complement the lectures and tutorials they are delivering.

"These resources are practical in nature; they include video footage of laboratory procedures but also lab simulations and computer practicals.

"The response from Life Sciences colleagues was overwhelming, and the amount of materials we have managed to aggregate on the externally-facing Moodle site is extraordinary.

"It feels good to be able to do something that I believe is genuinely useful for people who have experienced the most unimaginable hardship and continue to do so.

"A really important thing about today's launch event was hearing from our colleagues in Gaza, like Amani, and listening to their ideas for broadening this initiative and for doing more.

"Everyone in that room today will be up for doing as much as possible, and it has really got our imaginations working on this."

Amani Al-Mqadma, Head of International Relations at the Islamic University of Gaza, attended the launch and said: "This is a great opportunity that will support the students in nursing, medicine, and health sciences by providing access to virtual labs despite the scarcity of resources and an inability to access laboratories inside the Gaza Strip.

"Professor Al-Hindi and Professor Byron reached out to the universities in Gaza through previously established links with the University of Glasgow.

"Through these links and friendships, we have been able to provide this special support, so thank you to the University of Glasgow and thank you to all partners in this initiative."

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The initiative aligns closely with the University of Glasgow's commitment as a University of Sanctuary and contributes to the University’s engagement with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions).

Colleagues who would like to contribute further practical resources to PGRs, or explore similar initiatives, are encouraged to contact Professor Olwyn Byron: Olwyn.Byron@glasgow.ac.uk

First published: 13 February 2026