Our Department of Vision Hearing Sciences recently had the pleasure of hosting visiting staff from the Islamic University of Gaza. Head of Department Dr John Siderov welcomed Dr Nazmi Al-Masri and Dr Mohammed Hussein from the University and conducted a tour of the Department and the University Eye Clinic facilities.

Discussions were held on possible student exchanges and research collaborations between the two institutions and also on ways in which our Department can contribute to improvements in Optometry provision and training in the region.

The Islamic University of Gaza was established in 1978 to provide higher education to students in the Gaza Strip, who had previously had to seek higher education in Egypt. The University has since grown rapidly to encompass ten faculties offering a range of BA, BSc, MA and MSc courses, and gaining both national and international recognition.

Speaking of the visit Dr John Siderov commented "The visit from colleagues from the IUG was very welcome. We agreed to continue to work together to find ways in which our two institutions could collaborate to develop optometry in Gaza."