Information Technology

There is a strong and growing global demand for software engineers and other IT professionals. Having recognized the potential for young people to gain employment in the sector, ANERA pioneered projects in the West Bank and Gaza to provide advanced training and higher education in IT.

In the West Bank and Gaza, employment opportunities are diminishing due to restrictions on movement, closures, and increasing delays at checkpoints. By working over the Internet, IT graduates can transcend these restrictions and earn needed income. Of the more than 1,000 men and women graduated and/or certified through ANERA's IT initiative, the majority have found jobs or have moved on to further educational opportunities.

ANERA's work in IT has culminated in the establishment of “Centers of Excellence”, which offer unique training in software, systems development, and networks with international certification programs, as well as job placement and IT business incubation services. The curriculum trains students in software programming as well as web development, networking solutions, and other IT business services. Business incubation services connect students finishing their degrees or certificates with business opportunities.

On March 8, 2002 at Al Quds University in Jerusalem, the Said Khoury IT Center of Excellence opened; the first of ANERA’s IT centers. Next came the IT centers at the Palestine Polytechnic University in Hebron and the American Arab University in Jenin, both inaugurated in November 2005. And finally, in 2008, ANERA inaugurated the Najjad Zeenni IT Center at Birzeit University (read the press release).

These university bases mean the IT Centers of Excellence can draw upon a wealth of intellectual assets to strengthen their capacity to serve the needs of the community and contribute to innovative business solutions.