Palestinian student receives first-class honours and tops class at DCU

A Palestinian student has come top of his class in electronic and computer technology at Dublin City University (DCU).

Sarraj Alsersawi achieved the top marks while the conflict in Gaza claimed the lives of many of his friends and threatened his family’s safety.

Mr Alsersawi arrived in Dublin from Gaza in September 2023 as part of the Ireland-Palestine Scholarship Programme (IPSP) to study for his masters.

With a background in mechatronics, Mr Alsersawi earned his undergraduate degree at Al Azhar University, Gaza where he went on to work as a teaching assistant.

After the attacks by Hamas on October 7 2023, Mr Alsersawi said he was constantly worried about the safety of his family.

“At one point I lost contact with my family because of the blackout of the internet and communications and everything. So it was really stressful at that point,” he said.

His parents and brother managed to escape the conflict, finding refuge outside Gaza. However, Mr Alsersawi’s thoughts were also with his friends and colleagues at home.

His former University, Al Azhar, was completely flattened by Israeli shells and Mr Alsersawi lost friends, colleagues and students in what he describes as “this genocide”.

Mr Alsersawi says DCU, and particularly the programme’s chairman Dr Derek Molloy, were very supportive, offering him the option to defer exams due to his extraordinary circumstances.

However, he said the only way to cope was to throw himself into his studies.

He added: “I didn’t have the luxury to just sit down and do nothing and I thought that maybe excelling in my education would be the best way forward for myself and my family.”

Mr Alsersawi got first-class honours in his final exams and came first in his class.

“I’m proud of that,” he says.

“The modules included in the programme were just what I needed to enter the Irish job market,” says Mr Alsersawi, who has secured a job in Cork with multinational company, Stryker, which develops medical devices.

Mr Alsersawi says the job is a great fit for him, as he is passionate about using his qualifications to improve people’s quality of life.

“Some people would like to work in the automotive or other industries but for me, the medical device industry adds purpose and meaning to what I’m doing.”

He is enjoying his new role and is currently working on the development of a new electrosurgical unit, which uses high radio frequencies to cut tissue and control bleeding by causing immediate coagulation.

Even though his parents and brother are safe, the new year brought more distressing news for the family when they discovered their house was destroyed by Israeli bombs.

Through all of this, music has kept him going. Mr Alsersawi is a talented musician who plays the traditional Arabic instrument the Oud and has played with the Gaza Orchestra.

“Music is an essential part of my life and it also helped me immensely during that time to be able to play music. It helps a lot,” he added.

Since coming to Ireland, he has played several charity concerts for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and has started learning to play the mandolin.

“I’m slowly getting into the trad music scene,” he says.

Reflecting on what is next for Gaza, Mr Alsersawi points out that the war has claimed the lives of a large proportion of the region’s professional people including engineers, medics and academics.

He feels a sense of responsibility to return home whenever the rebuilding phase begins.

“It’s essential for us young people who were able to get a good education at some point to go back and try to help rebuild their communities at some point.

“It’s a bit early now, but this is something that I always keep in the back of my mind.”