SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) Progress
As of 2025, Al-Quds University has made a tremendous advancement to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). This advancement has been made possible through the interlinking of teaching, innovative community outreach efforts, research, and innovations. This advancement has proven the positive contribution of the university to the sustainable economic growth of the region and the economic empowerment of the workforce within the borders of Palestine.
Education in Business, Economics, and Social Sciences
Social Sciences, Economics, and Business comprise the undergraduate and postgraduate faculties of Al-Quds University. This is part of the reason passport to economic empowerment has been the growth of the workforce in Palestine. The growth included the integration of resilient and innovative capabilities to meet the demands of the changes in the local and global market. This included the participation to economic development of the region and Palestine. The faculty also enabled integration to the global market and the engagement to the global competition.
Research on Economic Growth and Employment
Within the research pillar of Al Quds University, economic research focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation, economic growth, and employment within the borders of the Palestine region. This has enabled the growth of evidence based and sustainable economic development policies that promote the improvement of the productivity and economic growth of the region. The policies primarily focus on the growth of sustainable jobs and improvement of inclusive economic growth.
Partnerships with Industry Stakeholders:
Since the early days of the university, efforts have been made to establish and maintain partnerships with business leaders, public authorities, and NGOs to close the gap between the university and the working world. These partnerships are formalized through collaborative research, internships, trainings, and other knowledge exchange activities that not only improve the employment opportunities of graduates, but also help sustain the innovation ecosystem around the university.
Encouraging Entrepreneurship and Innovation:
The university facilitates the creation and on-going support of robust entrepreneurial and social innovation frameworks through the provision of mentorship, incubation, sponsorship, and other networking opportunities to students, staff, and graduates. These frameworks directly support the establishment of innovative and socially responsible start-ups and other entrepreneurial initiatives that aid the university’s mission of economic diversification and job creation.
Sustaining Skills and Continuing Education:
Lifelong education and training is a core value of the university, and is incorporated into the university’s mission. Improving the adaptability of students in a changing job market is primarily accomplished through the university’s continuing education, professional training, and community outreach courses. Such programs focus on personal and professional advancement, enabling learners to master new skills, refine existing skills, and embrace the changes associated with employment.
Community Partnerships and Their Social Impact:
Al-Quds University has a reputation of extending its economic and social impact outside of the university community. This is demonstrated through the partnerships with local businesses, community organizations, and social economy enterprises to promote initiatives that stimulate local job creation and economically inclusive development.
In accordance with the university’s institutional values, the university has also implemented some initiatives to preserve the principles of decent work, which include respect for work relations, equity within the work environment, the support of employees with disabilities, compliance with the rights of intellectual property, and the researching of productivity and economic performance. Moreover, Al-Quds University has started to provide job opportunities for recently graduated students and has initiated new programs/centers related to business administration, economic growth, self-resource management, and sustainable enterprise development.
These actions establish and strengthen the role of Al-Quds University as one of the foremost institutions for economic empowerment, innovation, and development for inclusive growth. Economically, Al-Quds University supports the goals of the innovation s to achieve the SDG 8 for Palestine’s socio-economic development.
Goal 8 is to ensure economic growth is accompanied by decent work opportunities, sustainable development, and environmental protection, and to ensure the rights of workers are respected.
The natural environment plays an important role in the support of economic activities and the impact of the environment on the economy and the potential of the natural environment. With the right policy frameworks, the resources that the environment provides, and the natural inputs that the environment supplies can be fully transformed to various economic activities. Disasters, of any kind, can lead to major economic activities. Disasters can lead to major economic activity loss and have the potential to impoverish households. It is safe to say that the positive and employment potential of an ecosystem can generate far reaching and desirable consequences.
Sustained and inclusive economic growth is necessary for development and improving the livelihoods of the economically active population, and the global economy. There is an undeniable correlation between the economic activities and the employment opportunities. With economic growth, new and improving opportunities for employment are created, and economic stability is enlarged.
Key players and stakeholders in governance and development should address the issues of decent work and the growth of enterprises. Equally important, increase the economic and resource efficient policies that enable consumption and production economic activities, create employment systems that are inclusive to educated and trained youth, and establish and tighten systems that curtail modern slavery, child labor, and exploitative economic activities. These systems should be inclusive of strategic systems on economic activities and legally enforceable frameworks targeted on tourism, financial resources, and economic activities.
Inclusivity, sustainable economic growth, and access to decent working opportunities for all help reduce the overall poverty rate and help achieve social equity, all of which are vital for sustainable development. Al-Quds University promotes SDG 8 through the following:
Business, Economics and Social Sciences Education: Al-Quds University offers programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels across a number of disciplines in the fields of business, economics and social sciences. Students are prepared to engage with the global economy through various taught programs and associated fields including entrepreneurship, management, finance, economic development, and other career opportunities across a wide spectrum of economic sectors.
Research Activity: The University also conducts research related to growth, the economy, employment and the labor market including entrepreneurship, innovation, human capital and inclusive growth. These studies help the University understand the determinants of economic growth and employment, inform policies to create decent work opportunities and aid in economic evidence based decision making.
Collaboration with Industry and Stakeholders: In collaboration with partners in industry, as well as government and non-governmental organizations, Al-Quds University attempts to respond to economic and employment challenges. Through joint research and knowledge transfer, as well as internships, the University aids the integration of academia and the labor market and, in the process, fosters innovation and job creation.
Support for Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Al-Quds University fosters a supportive environment for entrepreneurship and innovation to assist students, faculty, and alumni interested in establishing businesses or social ventures. For this purpose, the University organizes mentorship, training, and networking opportunities, as well as the provision of entrepreneurial financing. Such initiatives strengthen the entrepreneurial culture of the University, thereby generating employment opportunities.
Commitment to Lifelong Learning: Al-Quds University promotes skills development and lifelong learning, focusing its efforts in this regard on students and members of the community. Program offerings that address continuing education, professional development, and community workshops serve the diverse interests and learning needs of participants, as well as the skills and knowledge updating required for the ever-changing labor market.
Community Initiatives and Economic Growth: The Al-Quds University collaborates with local enterprises, social enterprises, and community organizations to assist in community growth initiatives that lead to economic growth, development, and community job creation. This collaborative community partnership deals with the local economic situation, job creation, and communal social accountability while fostering social civic responsibility in the members of the local community. Faculty and students become active socially responsible members of the community.
Examples of community social responsibility initiatives the Al-Quds University implements to achieve the goal include:
• Providing a socially positive, educational, and culturally preserving milieu in the field of social work for all employees.
• Ensuring the employment and protection of individuals with disabilities.
• Ensuring compliance with relevant and legally enforceable agreements, laws, and regulations in the fields of copyright, trademark, and intellectual property protection.
• Engaging in and embracing a multitude of projects and research in the field of economic studies and productivity.
• Facilitating connections to job opportunities for recent graduates.
• Establishing and maintaining an Alumni Follow-up Office.
• Providing new, unique, and advanced programs for undergraduates and postgraduates in university colleges concerned with business administration and economic self-development.