The Dr Maisara Alrayyes Scholarship

The scholarship will support students whose work reflects Dr Alrayyes’ determination and perseverance, including his dedication to helping others through advancing and improving health outcomes.

King’s worked with Dr Alrayyes’s family, friends and colleagues to establish The Alrayyes Scholarship at King’s in August 2024. King’s also displays a piece of art created by his sister, the artist Fatma Alrayyes, in his memory on the ground floor of New Hunt’s House, Guy’s Campus.

About Dr Maisara Alrayyes

Dr Alrayyes was an inspirational young health leader who was committed to improving health among his community in Gaza. During his life, he worked extensively with NGOs, community based and government organisations in Gaza, specialising in women’s and children’s health. He also researched the impact of conflict on patients and doctors.

Dr Maisara Alrayyes was born on 31 January 1995 in Gaza City.

An outstanding medical student, Dr Alrayyes studied at Al-Azhar University, Gaza. He graduated with Honours in 2018. During this time, he was president of the Palestinian chapter of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations from 2016-2017.

From 2017 – 2019, he worked as a project coordinator for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund leading the training of medical students to become lifesaving first aid instructors and gain skills to act in emergency situations.

After a year-long rotation internship across hospitals in Gaza, Dr Alrayyes joined King's in 2019 when he was awarded a highly prestigious Chevening Scholarship. He undertook an MSc in Women and Children’s Health, which he completed the following year. During his time at King's, his work was published in several high-profile journals, including the Journal of Prehospital and Disaster Medicine.

Dr Alrayyes was well-respected and known among his colleagues for his dedication to improving healthcare for women and children in low-income and war-affected regions.

His research included studying the impact of conflict on maternal and child health services in Gaza, and exploring doctors’ experiences and training needs in disaster preparedness and response.

After completing his masters degree, Dr Alrayyes returned to Gaza. He joined Médecins du Monde, an international humanitarian organisation, and worked to help manage emergency doctor training and prepare primary health centres to operate as trauma care centres.

On 5 November, Dr Alrayyes was killed alongside other members of his family in Gaza City, aged 28 years. He is survived by his wife, Laura Elhayek, who is also a Chevening scholar, and his sister, Fatma.

Dr Maisara Alrayyes Scholarship

The scholarship is for a one-year Postgraduate Taught Master’s

Criteria (in order of preference)

1. Palestinian Medicine graduate for health-related MSc
2. Palestinian health/science graduate for health-related MSc
3. Palestinian graduate in other discipline for any MSc
4. Applicant from forced migration background deemed suitable for scholarship

Value

Successful applicants will receive:

• a full tuition fee waiver
• a living allowance of £20,000 for their year of study
• VISA and travel costs

Number available

One

Year of entry

2025

Applications

Applications will open for this scholarship in early 2025 for the 2025-26 intake.

Eligibility criteria

You must:

• Be Palestinian - priority will be given to those residents in the West Bank, Gaza or one of the Palestinian Refugee Camps
• Be currently residing in Palestine or be a holder of Palestinian travel documents
• Require a Student Visa to study in the UK. King’s can provide specialist VISA advice
• Be holding an offer of study on a Postgraduate taught programme at King’s in 2025
• Priority will be given to applicants who have not studied at a university outside the West Bank, Gaza, Israel, or Lebanon

General eligibility criteria and regulations

1. Unless otherwise stated, applicants must have been offered a place to study on a King’s programme and firmly accepted via UCAS or Kings Apply.
2. Applicants for online degree programmes are not eligible to apply.
3. Applicants must submit their scholarship application by the deadline stated.
4. Decisions on applications will be made according to the published criteria. All decisions are final.
5. Where only a limited number of awards are available, award recipients will be selected on a competitive basis. All applicants who meet the basic criteria for an award will have their application considered by an awarding panel. All panel members understand that applicants will have a broad range of differing skills, attributes and experiences, so the awarding panel will give equal consideration to both the applicant’s academic record and the applicant’s answers to the questions posed on the award application form. Panel members consider the content of the answers and their relevance to the question to be more important than the standard of writing.
6. If a suitably qualified candidates are not identified, we reserve the right not to allocate all awards.
7. Successful applicants must accept the award and agree to the general terms and conditions by the deadline given in the offer (normally 10 days from the date of the offer). If the offer and terms and conditions are not accepted, the offer may expire and a reserve candidate offered the financial award instead.

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Applications to the Dr Alrayyes Scholarship will open in early 2025 for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Students applying for this scholarship will also be eligible for the Sanctuary Scholarships programme at King's, which supports prospective and current students who have been forcibly displaced from anywhere in the world. Sanctuary Scholarship applications will also open in early 2025, and applicants can indicate that they would like to be considered for both.

For further information, students should contact: King’s Sanctuary Programme

Additional information is also available at the Sanctuary Programme page.