Al-Azhar University Gaza (AUG) organized activities for OLIVE project at their premises in 2022
December 2022. The activities included hosting delegates from the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The delegation attended AUG students’ presentations of their STEM experiments in the newly established labs within the framework of OLIVE. The delegates were excited with the passion students and instructors talk about OLIVE project.
March 2022. In cooperation with the Palestinian Ministry of Education, the AUG OLIVE team organized a forum with the science and mathematics teachers from all the Gaza Strip schools. 30 teachers from various areas and domains of specialization attended with almost another 10 mentors. In the event, the OLIVE team introduced the project goals and classroom implementations. Later, 5 teachers presented the pedagogies and practices in their subjects (Math, Chem, Biol, Phys, Tech) and the challenges they face including the curricula challenges. Focus groups were organized for each major, and the day was concluded with a one-hour open discussion. The teachers appreciated the fact that they were given the space to voice their concerns and the challenges they are met with when teaching STEM subjects. They believe that that OLIVE project is an ambitious ground breaking intervention for the educational system .