Central Park NYC

New York, one of the most famous states in the US and the destination of 50 million tourists every year; the state that never disappoints any tourist since it’s almost impossible to be bored in such an amazing and diverse place. From Times Square; the most crowded place on earth, to the Empire State Building,…

Music: mends our souls, heals our hearts, and enriches our minds – a remedy for my torn city of Aleppo

Music is not just an alphabet or symbols. It is not just an international language. Indeed it is very difficult to describe what music is. Music is, in my opinion, a great way to unite people, as opposed to events such as war, which divide and tear nations and peoples apart. Music can make the…

Many Voices and One Vision: For Peace

We are pleased to introduce you once again to Jong Massaquoi and share with you the words of our friend and fellow IIT student from the country of Liberia. Jong is a 4th year student in the IIT Stuart College of Business with a minor in architecture. A fellow classmate at Illinois Tech; Jong was…

Learning from the lessons of history: thoughts on a Syrian reconstruction

As we approach July 2014, few of us expected the war to continue into a fourth year; we had expected the “spring of several years ago” to be different. And while we have no clear understanding of when the war is going to end we must begin to give thought and devote our energies and…

The Syrian Phoenix: Within all of us

Through-out the human history, giving up has not been the solution for tragedies that faced societies. Passivity and surrendering does not resolve catastrophic conditions nor does it end wars and disasters that threaten the existence of people. Only those who survived to tell their stories in our present days chose to rise again and fight,…

“Hard work will always beat talent.”

We are pleased to introduce and share with you the words of Shane Samuels, a 4th year Architecture student from the island of Antigua, and a fellow classmate at Illinois Tech; as Syrians, Shane represents an IIT story – and a set of ideals and goals that we hold deeply as well, that is, a deep…

Building our thoughts: This is Why Syria Still Has a Chance.

As the conflict in Syria enters the 4th year now, people – especially children – are still suffering from the horrible crisis in their lives. They are forced to leave their homes, their history, their school and their professions – as well as the memories and lives that had been built over so many years….

“Uncounted and Unacknowledged: Syria’s Refugee University Students and Academics in Jordan”

– Authors: Keith David Watenpaugh and Adrienne L. Fricke with Tara Siegel (May 2013) As a follow-up to yesterday’s post, we are pleased to share with you information about this report produced in May 2013, a joint project of the UC Davis Human Rights Initiative and the Institute of International Education. A brief excerpt of…

“The War Follows Them: Syrian University Students and Scholars in Lebanon”

We are pleased to share with you information about this recently released report and the accompanying announcement from the Institute of International Education. – The Editors, IIT Syrian Student Blog “The crisis in Syria continues to have a devastating impact on professors, university students, and the education sector, not only in Syria but also in…

World Refugee Day, June 20, 2014

“On World Refugee Day, I call on the international community to intensify efforts to prevent and resolve conflicts, and to help achieve peace and security so that families can be reunited and refugees can return home.” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Reflections… With all due respect to the Secretary-General, I have come to believe that these statements…

IIE and Partners Lead Higher Education Response to Syria Crisis

We are pleased to share this Press Release from the Institute of International Education. – the Editors of the IIT Syrian student blog NEW YORK, May 16, 2014—As the Syrian crisis enters its fourth year, the Institute of International Education and its partners around the world announce news and results related to the work of…

Syrian Students shouldn’t stop their education!

Last week I went through a very interesting article that described the innovative project that Samsung Corporation executives launched in South Africa. Companies like Samsung have a big demand for shipping containers, and they need to keep their trucks in high efficiency, so every now and then they replace those trucks with newer versions with…