For many students, postgraduate education is the next step in a career journey. For Dr A’aed Mahmoud Abdulkarim Abu Nejem and Tamar Nijim, it has also become a source of stability and purpose while their families remain in Gaza.

A’aed, 26, is from Rafah and is studying for an MSc in wildlife conservation and management at University College Dublin. Tamar, 27, is from Nuseirat refugee camp and completed a master’s in applied linguistics at Mary Immaculate College in Limerick.

Their fields are very different, but both see education as more than personal advancement. A’aed wants to help rebuild Palestine’s veterinary sector and develop research linking animal, human and environmental health, while Tamar hopes to support students and people with disabilities.

A’aed’s route to postgraduate education began with a career in veterinary medicine.

He studied at Al-Azhar University as part of the first group to undertake a veterinary medicine programme in the Gaza Strip, where there had been a serious shortage of qualified veterinarians.

In 2022, he opened Aman Veterinary Center in Rafah. When the war began and large numbers of displaced people arrived in the area, he says it became one of the only veterinary services still operating there. Despite shortages of medicines, equipment and animal food, A’aed and his colleagues provided free treatment for stray and vulnerable animals, created a shelter for animals separated from their families and used interaction with companion animals to support children and women.

When he was forced to leave Rafah for Deir al-Balah, his home, clinic and shelter were destroyed. He reopened his work in a new location and trained a team to continue providing veterinary care.

Injury and destruction

In January 2025, A’aed was seriously injured when an airstrike hit an emergency veterinary clinic where he was treating working animals. After leaving hospital, he returned to the work. His team eventually established three clinics in Khan Younis, Deir al-Balah and Nuseirat, which he continues to guide remotely.

Later that year, he received an award in Italy recognising his veterinary work in conflict areas. The connection helped him seek opportunities to continue his education and, with support from Irish veterinary colleagues, he secured a place at UCD.

It is not easy to see death and destruction with one eye while trying to build a future with the other. There is not a single hour that passes without thinking about them

“Getting to Ireland felt like a miracle,” he says. His attempts to leave Gaza had been refused three times before he was finally able to travel.

Leaving meant walking away from his family, colleagues and the work he had built. Arriving in Ireland brought a different challenge.

“The language, culture, environment and way of life were all new to me,” he recalls. “At the same time, I was dealing with the psychological effects of everything I had lived through.”

He is now studying wildlife conservation and management, with a research project examining exposure to Avian Influenza A in Irish seals. The project follows a One Health approach, which considers the connections between human, animal and environmental health.

The course has expanded how A’aed thinks about veterinary medicine beyond clinical practice. Having seen the destruction of wildlife, agriculture and the environment in Gaza, he hopes to apply what he is learning to future recovery efforts.

“Everything is connected: human health, animal health, plants and the environment,” he contends.

He credits lecturers, classmates and staff at UCD with helping him balance “the two lives” he now lives: his life as a student in Ireland and his continuing concern for his family in Gaza.

That balance remains difficult. His family is still living in danger, and he continues to help support them after his father lost his source of income.

“It is not easy to see death and destruction with one eye while trying to build a future with the other,” he says. “There is not a single hour that passes without thinking about them.”

Irish opportunity

Before coming to Ireland, Tamar worked as a teacher in Gaza. Her interest in applied linguistics grew from wanting to better understand and support people with autism, dyslexia and other disabilities.

“There isn’t a lot of research back home about it,” she says. “I decided that I wanted to specialise and learn more about this so I could help them [people with disabilities] in the future.”

Reaching postgraduate study took years. Tamar spent five years applying for master’s programmes and scholarships in different countries before receiving a Government of Ireland scholarship.

“I wanted to continue my studies and be able to help others,” she says. “I wanted to give education to others and be someone else’s hope and encouragement.”

She arrived in Ireland on 29 August 2023. After years of applications and the difficulties involved in leaving Gaza, she says it felt “like a dream”. She imagined exploring a new country, improving her English and beginning a new chapter.

One month later, the war began.

Tamar was trying to begin a demanding master’s programme while fearing for her family in Gaza. She also lost her grandfather, brother-in-law, aunts and former students.

Concentrating on college work was extremely difficult. Tamar says she experienced periods of depression, but support from Mary Immaculate College helped her to continue.

“My lecturers were very understanding,” she says. “They were always encouraging me towards finishing my master’s. They were always there for me.”

Her classmates became close friends, while the wider local community also helped her adjust.

“I was so welcomed by everyone, whether it was my lecturers, classmates or the local community,” she says. “It felt like home.”

Tamar graduated last October and has since been looking for work in her field while supporting herself through a job outside of it.

Her long-term ambition is to work in a role where she can represent Palestine and support students whose education has been disrupted by war or displacement.

“I want to be a person who brings hope to someone else,” she says. “I want to encourage other people to have a dream and be able to do something.”

Her advice to Palestinian students hoping to study abroad is realistic as well as hopeful.

“Don’t expect it to be easy,” she says. “Work on yourself and dream. Dreams are free. Once you get an opportunity, make sure you use that opportunity to give other people an opportunity.”

Education with a purpose

For A’aed, continuing his education in Ireland represents “a new life after coming so close to death”.

His first goal is to help rebuild Palestine’s veterinary sector. He also hopes to lead international One Health research and share what he has learned with governments and educational institutions preparing for natural disasters and human-made crises.

His career has already moved from clinical practice and surgery towards research, conservation and scientific development.

After completing his master’s, he hopes to secure a PhD scholarship.

Tamar’s ambitions are similarly rooted in helping others. Her interest in disability and education began before she left Gaza, while her experience in Ireland strengthened her wish to help other students access opportunities.

Both students also want people to understand the reality behind studying abroad. Tamar says nobody chooses to become a refugee or to live far from their family. She is grateful for the welcome she received in Ireland and hopes people will judge individuals by their own actions rather than blaming entire communities for the actions of a few.

A’aed believes Palestinian students deserve opportunities at leading universities, describing them as creative and determined.

“Do not give up, no matter how impossible the journey may seem,” he says. “Keep learning, keep believing in yourself, and remember that your education is not only for your own future, but also for your family, your community and everyone who will benefit from what you achieve.”