Brain Drain or Brain Circulation? The Impact of Gaza’s 7th October War on the Displaced Academicians and Personnel of Higher Education Institutions

The unprecedented Gaza war in October 2023 had a catastrophic impact on the Palestinian higher education sector in the Gaza Strip: deaths, injuries, psychological trauma to educators, and destruction to educational premises and their facilities. Major concerns include displacement, diminished access to education, and the subsequent exodus of qualified professionals from the country. These factors are exacerbated by increasing reduction or complete cessation of education, and infrastructure degradation in the war zone areas. This study aims to explore and examine the impact of the Gaza war crisis on higher education academicians and personnel which has intrinsically hampered education, research, and science. This study adopts a qualitative method by interviewing university academicians from Gaza addressing the impact of the war crisis on their careers. These interviews scope the barriers and sketch the scale and nature of challenges for the higher educational sector during the war aiming to record the most important decisions and interventions to maintain the continuity of the education process forward.