School of Electronic Engineering

Palestinian Student Sarraj Alsersawi Graduates Top of His Class Amid Gaza War

10/04/2025

Palestinian student Sarraj Alsersawi recently graduated with a first-class honours and ranked top of the class in the MSc of Electronic and Computer Technology (Internet of Things). What makes this an even more remarkable achievement is that he worked for this success while the war in Gaza actively claimed the lives of many of his loved ones and threatened his family’s safety on a regular basis.

Sarraj came to study for his master’s in Dublin City University as part of the Ireland-Palestine Scholarship Programme (IPSP), arriving in Dublin from Gaza in September 2023. He received his undergraduate degree in Mechatronic engineering at Al Azhar University, Gaza, where he went on to work as a teaching assistant. However, the master’s programme at DCU struck his interest due to the modules perfectly aligning with his interests as well as the “young university” feel. Another point that fascinated him was the fact that some of his undergraduate books were written by academics from the DCU Faculty of Engineering and Computing.

The outbreak of war in his native Gaza following the October 7th Hamas attacks on southern Israel completely overshadowed Sarraj’s initial positivity-filled experience studying for his master’s at DCU. Thankfully, his parents and brother managed to escape the conflict, finding refuge outside Gaza. However, his thoughts also resided with his friends and colleagues at home.

Discussing his fears over what was occurring in Gaza, Sarraj commented:

“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.”

With his former university and house being destroyed by Israeli bombardment, there was a high level of distressing news coming in on a regular basis. However, Sarraj used his studies as an escape from the anxieties that were inevitably extremely present. He said:

“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.”

In spite of the horrific situation at hand, Sarraj excelled in his studies and received a first-class honours, ranked top of the class, and received a job offer in Cork with multinational company Stryker to develop medical devices.

When looking at what is next for Gaza, Sarraj notes that the war has claimed the lives of an immense 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 commences, commenting:

“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.”

Read the full blog on Sarraj Alsersawi’s inspirational story.