SEED welcomes CARA/SRF Fellow
02 Aug 2019
Dr Wiesam Essa joins the Department of Geography.
Dr Wiesam Essa has recently joined the University as a CARA and SRF Fellow in the Department of Geography from Al-Aqsa University in the Gaza Strip. The Committee for At Risk Academics (CARA), and the Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) work with academics at risk of persecution in their home country. This is the second CARA fellow hosted by the School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED).
Wiesam has research expertise in satellite remote sensing and Geographical Information Science (GIS). He works with high resolution spatial data on the thermal properties of cities and develops methodologies to explore these data at different scales. Wiesam will be looking at the relationship between urban temperatures and various parameters including urban green space and water consumption.
Professor Jamie Woodward, Head of Geography, said: “We are delighted to welcome Wiesam and his family to Manchester and to work with him over the next two years. His research interests mesh very nicely with those of colleagues in the Mapping, Culture and GIScience Research Group in the Department of Geography and with the Manchester Urban Institute. We will encourage Wiesam to develop collaborations across the School and contribute to the UG and MSc teaching programmes in Geography.”
Wiesam’s fellowship is funded by the Faculty’s Social Responsibility team, SEED, CARA and IIE-SRF. It is a very nice example of how the University’s social responsibility work can make a real, meaningful difference to people as well as support our internationalisation agenda and bring different perspectives and experiences to the University.
Wiesam said: “Coming to the UK is an important milestone and an honour in my personal and academic life. The University of Manchester and the Department of Geography will be an oasis for me after years of wandering in human and academic crises within the Gaza Strip. I am grateful to the University, IIE-SRF and CARA for helping me to make this move so that I can practice my life of learning, teaching and research without any fear”.
CARA is a unique charitable organisation that is firmly embedded in the UK higher education and research community with a growing number of international partners. The IIE-SRF saves the lives, voices, and ideas of threatened scholars around the world by providing fellowships and safe academic environments.