Pal-Think and Denmark's Roskilde University sign a cooperation agreement

Pal-Think for Strategic Studies, an independent non-profit Palestinian think-and-research institution headquartered in the Gaza Strip, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Danish Roskilde University, Department of Society and Globalisation, on strengthening international cooperation in the field of education and academic research — it is recalled that the academic representative of Roskilde University visited the Gaza Strip and the Pal-Think institution in October 2014 — and the two parties worked diligently to strengthen the agreement, which became official on the sixth of June 2015.

Locally, many Palestinian students and researchers have the strong theoretical foundation acquired through their study in the Palestinian universities; despite that, they need practical application on the ground, and its transformation into real practical opportunities to serve society. On the other hand, Roskilde University is a university specialised in research that makes certain problems a subject of study, and is known as a university that follows in its methodology the strengthening of team spirit among the students in accomplishing projects. By these facts, the opportunity of student exchange may grant the “Palestinian” students the possibility of going out into the real world and applying the theoretical concepts in practical reality.

This innovative approach, of cooperation and joint exchange in academic research, aims at granting the instruments the students take up in research and applying them in the scenarios of reality — outside the university's walls. In the same context, Pal-Think for Strategic Studies sees great energies in this approach that can be exploited and benefited from.

The Department of Society and Globalisation at Roskilde University provides an attractive environment for education and research at the international level, with more than 80 permanent staff, some 65 doctoral students, and a large proportion of international students. The goal of this agreement is strengthening the exchange of knowledge and methods between the two institutions; moreover, the goal of this memorandum is strengthening the communication between the researchers and students of the Department of Society and Globalisation at Roskilde University in Denmark and Palestine alike, to increase the possibility of academic cooperation in specific research projects. From this standpoint, Pal-Think for Strategic Studies gives priority and effort to facilitating these processes, and to being an active part of this cooperation.

Pal-Think for Strategic Studies thanks those in charge of the Department of Society and Globalisation at Roskilde University for making this cooperation possible, and looks forward to engaging in an effective partnership and close cooperation with the Department of Society and Globalisation at Roskilde University. It is worth mentioning that the Pal-Think institution previously hosted a student from the Department of Society and Globalisation for three months in the Gaza Strip, and hopes the new agreement will grant the opportunity to other students to visit the Strip and benefit from this kind of exchange.