In July 2024, Nada, a Palestinian student living in the Gaza Strip, was admitted as a master's student in the transportation and environmental engineering program at the University of Calgary. She has since co-written two conference papers with her graduate supervisor, Robyn Paul, an assistant professor at the Schulich School of Engineering in the Department of Civil Engineering.Â
However, Nada has yet to set foot on the university's campus because she doesn't have the required biometrics to enter Canada, and has no way of obtaining them while stuck in Gaza.
Dr. Paul said that the 17-month delay for Nada obtaining a study permit "is unheard of" and that she doesn't understand how Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada "has chosen to abandon" Nada and some 130 other Palestinian students in Gaza and Egypt who have been admitted to Canadian universities but have yet to receive student visas.Â
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