Academy for Educational Development

HESI was designed to allow USAID to respond to critical needs of the Palestinian higher education community, and to support economic growth through education in the West Bank and Gaza. AED, as USAID's HESI contractor, has been engaged in multiple activities under HESI since program inception on August 19, 2002.











The Master's Degree Scholarship Program component is a continuation of the previous Clinton Scholarship Program, and provides scholarships for masters degree programs in the US. This program targets educational fields which can contribute to alleviating the socio-economic crisis currently pervading Palestinian society. These fields include: psychology, special education, nursing, occupational therapy, health management, nutrition, and teaching English as a second language (TESL), among others. Palestinian women are particularly encouraged to apply.











The Local Scholarship Program component provides assistance to university colleges and vocational and technical colleges in the West Bank and Gaza. Such projects include development of online journals, needs assessment for the Higher Education Management System (HEMIS) to improve IT capacity for the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE), research grants, and capacity building for MOEHE staff. Furthermore, several projects are underway to improve library resources, and modernize computer labs and equipment at local universities.











In addition, short term training has been conducted in Information Technology, water management, arbitration, health policy and reform, monitoring and evaluation, project management and software development.