Due to the Syrian Civil War ravaging the country for more than seven years and the abysmal security situation, research and teaching at Syrian universities is virtually impossible: As part of the Philipp Schwartz Initiative, scholarships allow some scientists to continue their work at German universities and research institutions. Starting in October 2018, TU Dresden will once again host two Syrian scientists for a funding period of two years.

The architect Dr. Fatina Kourdi completed her PhD in 1989 at TU Dresden and subsequently conducted research at a number of Syrian universities, including Aleppo. However, she and her family had to flee the city in 2013. Initially, she was able to work at the Zirve University in Gaziantep (Turkey) until the coup attempt in 2016 led to the university being closed by the Turkish government. Since March 2017, she has been a visiting scientist at TU Dresden’s Faculty of Architecture – first as a DRESDEN Senior Fellow before entering the Eleonore-Trefftz programme for visiting female professors. Thanks to the Philipp Schwartz Initiative, Fatina Kourdi and her family are now in safety. The grant has made it possible for her to continue her research at TU Dresden. In the “Rebuild Aleppo” project, she works closely with students to develop strategies and models with the goal of rebuilding the so-called informal settlements – areas which have been obliterated by the war, yet continue to house almost half of the population of Aleppo. The second research project strives to ameliorate the Gorbitz district of Dresden.
“My family and I are very fortunate to have received the scholarship,” says Fatina Kourdi. “My two sons are now studying medicine at TU Dresden following a tough selection process; my husband is a doctor and joined us a year ago as part of the family reunification programme. He is currently learning German, so that he can work here.”

Apart from Fatina Kourdi, a second scholarship-holder has been accepted this year at TU Dresden as part of the Philipp Schwartz Initiative. He is currently still in Syria, so that for the time being he needs to remain anonymous. The DRESDEN-concept Welcome Center at TU Dresden had secured the scholarships. The Welcome Center supports international scientist and their families, who arrive at TU Dresden or at a DRESDEN-concept research institution. The team had already succeeded in securing the Philipp Schwartz scholarship for TU Dresden two years ago. Prof. Jandab Zarour, a transportation scientist from Damascus, researches at the Chair of Planning and Design of Railway Infrastructure of TU Dresden. He is also working on rebuilding his home country of Syria after the war, and is developing concepts for the restoration of the public transport infrastructure. His funding, however, comes to an end in February 2019. The future is uncertain for him and his family. “We feel at ease in Dresden and would like to stay,” he says. “Two of my children will start their studies at TU Dresden in October. My youngest son is in 9^th grade at school and my wife would like to work as an IT teacher again, once she has completed her German language course. I truly hope that we will be able to acquire financing for the period following the scholarship.”

The Philipp Schwartz Initiative was developed by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in cooperation with the Federal Foreign Office to allow universities, universities of applied science, and extramural research institutions in Germany to grant scholarships for research stays to threatened foreign researchers. This initiative is financed by the Federal Foreign Office, the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, the Gerda Henkel Foundation, the Klaus Tschira Foundation, the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Stifterverband, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, as well as the Stiftung Mercator.  https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/philipp-schwartz-initiative.html

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