As another cohort of graduates don their caps and gowns to walk through the ‘Door to the Future’ at Qatar Foundation (QF) Convocation, they are filled with reflection, pride, and the weight of journeys that were anything but ordinary. This year, Safaa Jaber, a 27-year-old international student from Gaza, is graduating with a Doctor of Juridical Science degree, the most advanced academic degree at the College of Law at QF’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU).
As convocation draws nearer, Jaber reflects on the difficulties she faced in her journey. The genocide in Gaza, which started in her second year into the program, took its toll on her.
“I felt helpless a lot of the time, living in a sort of survival mode,” she says. “At QF, we had spaces to share our stories and come together. It was a space to be heard, a space to tell others about the realities in Gaza before the genocide started.”
Jaber’s greatest challenge was her final year. With her family far away, she had to remain steadfast in order to write her dissertation and graduate. “It was hard to disconnect from the news long enough to write, but my family wanted me to finish this degree and graduate,” she says. “I had to push through and write my dissertation – it was the only thing I could do at the time.”
The achievement of the degree is not lost on Jaber as she reflects on what graduation means to her. “I feel a responsibility to utilise this degree; to be a voice of reason and justice. I am proud of my achievement because my family are proud of me, and I pray I utilise it well.”
As she looks ahead, Jaber is looking forward to graduating, but finds this moment to be bittersweet due to the absence of her family. “I look forward to celebrating with them,” she says. “They were always pushing me to keep going, and I took inspiration from them to finish this degree. That is why I dedicate my dissertation to all of Palestine.”
Jaber first came to HBKU as a student in the College of Law’s LLM in International Law and Foreign Affairs program, where she chose the legal status of the Gaza Strip as her academic focus. “After I finished my LLM, I still had academic aspirations in the field of law, so I decided to pursue the Doctor of Juridical Science degree,” she says. “The program’s scholarship enabled me to pursue further studies, and HBKU also provided us with opportunities to network internationally and attend conferences abroad.”
While at HBKU, Jaber also took part in Qatar Foundation’s Mehnaty and Al Meydan programmes – work‑study initiatives that allow students to gain professional experience within the QF ecosystem while pursuing their degrees at QF universities. She looks back at her time with these programs fondly, having worked as a Community Development Advisor in QF’s female student housing.
“It was a wonderful experience,” she added. “I was able to gain leadership experience and also build relations with over 90 students. In 2025, I also won the best Community Development Advisor award.”