Al-Quds Open University (QOU) participated in an international conference titled “Rebuilding Higher Education Institutions,” held in Doha, Qatar, on April 14–15, 2025. QOU was represented by Dr. Abdul Rahman Selwadi, Dean of the Faculty of Administrative and Economic Sciences . The event was organized under the patronage of several international universities, including Hamad Bin Khalifa University (Qatar), the University of Glasgow (Scotland), the University of Fort Hare and the University of Johannesburg (South Africa), and the University of Exeter (United Kingdom).

The conference brought together representatives from higher education institutions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, along with a range of regional and international organizations.

During the opening session, Dr. Selwadi outlined the key challenges facing higher education in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression. He emphasized the urgent need for regional and international cooperation to ensure educational continuity and to support the reconstruction of damaged academic infrastructure. Dr. Selwadi also highlighted Al-Quds Open University’s pioneering crisis-response initiatives which included activating emergency plans and e-learning, providing academic and psychological support to students, updating the digital infrastructure, and training academic and administrative staff to deal with exceptional circumstances. He emphasized Al-Quds Open University's commitment to ensuring the quality of education despite the challenges, reflecting its educational and national mission. He also pointed to the significant damage suffered by the university's branches in the Gaza Strip.

On the sidelines of the conference, Selwadi held a series of meetings with representatives of regional and international educational and development institutions, as well as universities from Norway and Japan, with the aim of enhancing opportunities for academic cooperation, providing support to students in the Gaza Strip, and ensuring the continuity of higher education in Gaza.