Every day, scholars improve our world through their work as experts, educators, and change agents. IIE-SRF and its partners strive to ensure that academics threatened by persecution and violence are able to continue advancing scientific knowledge and striving for more just societies, both during and after their fellowships.
We were lucky to get an in-depth look at the lives and work of four of IIE-SRF’s courageous and talented alumni in our May 2021 webinar, “The enduring impact of IIE-SRF scholars on communities worldwide.” The webinar – the third in our IIE-SRF Dialogues series – focused on the academic and personal journeys of program alumni from Iraq, Kenya, Russia, and Syria.
The discussion featured:
Dr. Amal Alachkar of Syria. Dr. Alachkar is a neuroscientist who conducts research on the brain’s biological and chemical mechanisms that underlie psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia, autism, and Parkinson’s disease. She undertook IIE-SRF fellowships from 2012 to 2014 at the University of California, Irvine, where she is now hosting an IIE-SRF scholar of medical biochemistry within her Alachkar Lab.
Dr. Akram Ezzat of Iraq. Dr. Ezzat is a scholar of mechanical engineering whose academic work focuses on topics such as heat transfer, renewable energy, fluid mechanics, engineering measurements and instrumentation, and engineering safety analysis. After completing IIE-SRF fellowships at the American University of Madaba in Jordan from 2014 to 2016, he returned to Baghdad University, where he is currently a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. In 2018, he undertook a visiting position at Adelaide University in Australia.
Dr. Eunice Kamaara of Kenya. Dr. Kamaara is a professor at Moi University in Kenya. After undertaking an IIE-SRF fellowship from 2008 to 2009 at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, she returned to Moi and has collaborated on research projects with universities worldwide, particularly on the intersection between religion / spirituality, health, and ethics.
Dr. Sufian Zhemukhov of Russia. Dr. Zhemukhov is a political scientist who studies conflict resolution and tolerance among diverse groups in the Muslim world. He undertook IIE-SRF fellowships from 2011 to 2013 at The George Washington University, where he continues to teach and conduct research. He is also an award-winning comedic storyteller, sharing his personal experiences growing up in Russia’s North Caucuses and now living and working in the U.S.
“The enduring impact of IIE-SRF scholars on communities worldwide” is a companion to our report, To Rescue Scholars is to Rescue the Future. The report, released in April 2021, offers a big-picture view of the remarkable post-fellowship impacts and accomplishments of more than 200 IIE-SRF alumni from 38 countries who are making a difference in their host, home, and academic communities.
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About IIE-SRF Dialogues: “The enduring impact of IIE-SRF scholars on communities worldwide” is the third session of IIE-SRF’s 2021 webinar series IIE-SRF Dialogues. Webinars in this series explore the threats facing academics globally as well as the ongoing efforts to help these scholars resume their work and rebuild their lives and careers. These hour-long discussions feature IIE-SRF fellows and alumni, IIE-SRF partners, and other experts discussing the world’s most urgent higher education emergencies, key topics related to academic freedom, and best practices in assisting threatened and displaced scholars as identified by IIE-SRF and our Alliance partners. You can view our prior webinars using the below links:
» Attacks on Higher Education, co-hosted by the Global Coalition to Prevent Education from Attack (GCPEA)
» Yemen’s Higher Education Crisis, co-hosted by the Association for Yemeni Academics & Professionals (AYAP)
About IIE-SRF: The Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) is the only global program that arranges and funds fellowships for threatened and displaced scholars at partnering higher education institutions worldwide. Since its founding in 2002, IIE-SRF has supported over 900 scholars from 60 countries in partnership with more than 430 host institutions in 50 countries.
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