Meet our Alumi

“I decided to volunteer at the Palestine Medical Complex. How they work under the pressure of an endless number of patients, and the available recourses, is truly remarkable. I have learned to be creative, cope with stress, and still try to be positive. This is an experience that has learned me lessons that I will remember for the rest of my life.” Judith van Grafhorst, Travel Scholar 2023

“I visited the mountain village St. Catherine.The mix of religions in St. Catherine is interesting. The monastery is nowadays still inhabited by Greek orthodox monks. The Islamic Bedouins from the village give tours in the churches and analyse the old Christian paintings for visitors. In the meantime, they go praying in the mosque in the monastery. Both groups need each other.” Talis Bosma, Travel Scholar 2022

“It was an unforgettable experience to be in Egypt while seeing the preparations for Ramadan and the whole month of Ramadan. My enthusiasm for Egypt and khayamiya is not finished after this research period in Cairo, and I hope to return soon to extend this research by looking at the other usages of the textile that I encountered.” Christina de Korte, Travel Scholar 2025

“The experience pushed my boundaries as I crossed disciplines and learned new skills. I was also acquainted with the Dutch working environment, and extended my formal and informal networks.” Mohammad Almezaien, MSR Scholar 2019

“I have lovely memories from cycling up to Scheveningen whenever things have gotten a bit overwhelming. Indeed, it has been wonderful to experience the breathtaking natural beauty of the Netherlands this past year, even though I have only barely managed to scratch the surface!” Sabeeh Al Khayyat, LUF-LRF Scholar 2024

“My time in Dubai was personally enriching. I had the time to discover the well-known as well as the hidden spaces of the city, meet many interesting people from across the world, and make unexpected friends. I had the opportunity to travel to the other Emirates as well as to see the breathtaking nature of Oman. Overall, I am very grateful I had this opportunity for the travel scholarship that enabled me to carry out this project.” Esther Schoorel, Travel Scholar 2019

“My experience at the Hague extended outside the course’s classroom as it gave me the great chance of connecting with lawyers, judges and law students from around the world of almost 90 different nationalities.” Faten Al Sourani, LUF-LRF Scholar 2020

“Thanks to the support of the Luftia Rabbani Foundation’s travel grant, my journey in Jordan has extended beyond the confines of a classroom. It’s been a journey of personal growth, cultural discovery, and above all, a deepening connection with the people and the land that have welcomed me with open arms.” Eline Koopman, Travel Scholar 2023

“The scholarship provided me with the opportunity to study in a renowned institute where I was able to make life-long contact with international professionals working in healthcare. Sari Taha, MSR Scholar 2021

Jordan has astounding natural beauty. Wadi Rum truly looks like Mars. And you can really float in the Dead Sea. It is not a marketing story. And Petra is a must-see, that will leave anyone who exists the mountain city wondering: ‘How did they build this place?'” Haroen Reiners, Travel Scholar 2025

“Of the total 7000 km, we cycled 1500 km in Jordan and Egypt to explore and document regenerativeagriculture practices from a farmer’s perspective, with the aim of gaining a bottom-up understanding of what regenerative agriculture means.” Aisha Hassan, Travel Scholar 2022

“The Levant has always caught my imagination due to the intricate combination of its distinct and unique civilization on the one hand and the history and culture it shares with Europe on the other hand.”- Dr. Nora Stel, 2013 Travel Scholar from the Netherlands- Assistant Professor of Conflict Studies, Radboud University

“My time in Dubai was personally enriching. I had the time to discover the well-known as well as the hidden spaces of the city, meet many interesting people from across the world, and make unexpected friends.”- Dr. Esther Schoorel, 2015 Travel Scholar from the Netherlands- Lecturer of Political Science, Maastricht University

“I do believe that nothing is impossible. We just have to work hard, believe in our capabilities, think positively and enjoy the journey!”- Walaa Elrouby, 2014 MSR Scholar from Egypt-Global Employee Experience and Learning Manager, COFRA Holding AG

“On the personal level, living in the quietness of the Netherlands helped me revisit a lot of things in my life in Lebanon and to rediscover myself!”- Alaa Minawi, 2014 MSR Scholar from Palestine/Lebanon- Artist, Performative/Light Installations

“Both European and Arab nations have very rich history and culture, and as I have discovered, many things in common. This makes dialogue an important tool for cooperation, development and prosperity.”- Haya Omari, 2018 MSR Scholar from Palestine- Legal Associate, Kamal & Associates

“With Berber Express, I wanted to address the question of cultural authenticity, historical representation and Berber identity in Marrakech and the processes of colonization, globalization and commodification this identity has become entangled with.” – Dr. Norah Karrouche, 2014 Travel scholar from the Netherlands – Assistant Professor, Faculty of Humanities, Art and Culture, History, Antiquity, VU Amsterdam

“The way students are trained in the Netherlands, it’s about training you to think differently, to approach problems differently. And this is why I thought my mission in life is trying to bring this experience back to the region whether in Jordan, UAE, Palestine, Egypt, wherever I had done my work.” Dr. Amin Amin, 1996 MSR Scholar from Palestine – CEO, ASK Arabia

“My dream is to launch a musical program [in Palestine] that offers official degrees so the youth don’t have to leave to study abroad. I want them to have opportunities in their own country.” – Nai Barghouti, 2019 MSR Scholar from Palestine – Singer, flute player, composer.

“The year I obtained the MSR scholarship was a year of personal and professional growth. During that year, I did a research internship at the Centre for Human Drug Research; a fast-growing clinical research organization in Leiden.” – Mohammad Almezaien, 2019 MSR Scholar from Egypt – Neuroscientist

“I learned through my work that every person already as voice. Palestinian youth, children, men and women through their belief in knowledge, peace and justice are helping others learn to listen to our voice.” Dr. Kholoud Alajarma – 2013 Edward Said Week Travel Scholar from Palestine – Lecturer, Anthropology of Islam, Groningen University

“I always had the belief that International Law is the voice of peace and a bridge for communication amongst human beings. From my perspective, the Peace Palace had always been the gate to this magical world of law, justice, and peace.” – Hager Abdellatif, 2018 Vreede Scholar from Egypt – PhD Candidate, Department of Public International Law, Pharos University

“What motivates me and inspires me to continue to achieve and reach my full potential is my strong belief in people’s human rights and the fact that I am part of such an inspiring and restless community.” – Afef Abrougui, 2015 MSR Scholar from Tunisia – Lead Editor, Global Voices Advox

“My study at the Utrecht School of the Arts presented a golden opportunity for me to have real “field” experience with arts organizations, dealing with new parameters that differ considerably from what I am used to here at home.” – Sharaf Dar Zaid, 2011 MSR Scholar from Palestine – Dancer, Choreographer, Art Manager

“I made amazing friends from all around the world. Through our cultural differences, we were able to learn a lot from each other. I was able to present my country, that is usually unknown to foreigners, and in return I gained knowledge of different countries history and culture.” – Facal Rajab, 2019 MSR Scholar from Lebanon –

“Comedy turned out to be a great way to get to know Lebanon, its history and its people. With simple questions like: ‘Who’s your favourite comedian, and why?, ‘What do you feel can’t be joked about?, ‘Which jokes do you find offensive?’, people easily opened up. It showed society from an inside perspective.” – Janneke Rinzema, 2018 Travel Scholar from the Netherlands – Comedian, Performer

“My time in Beirut was deeply inspiring and educative. I was able to spend a lot of time to observe the city and talk with so many different people, which gave me a lot of insight in this extremely complex city. A city that is not to be explained through theory or books.” – Quita Schabracq, 2018 Travel Scholar from the Netherlands – Artist, Designer

“When standing on the escalators of Rabat’s main train station and watching the city slowly emerge in front of me, I realised that, for me as a traveller, the region of the language I have been learning was as new as it could be.” – Melle Monquil, 2017 Travel Scholar – Researcher, Paris Nanterre University