
Welcome to the GSACS Virtual Student Conference and Career Workshop 2021!
During Fall 2021 semester, seventeen virtual exchange projects took place between CUNY students (BMCC, Guttman, Hostos, LaGuardia, and Queens College) and students in the Middle East and North Africa region (Abdelmalek Essaadi University, The American University in Cairo, Jordan University of Science and Technology, and Palestine Ahliya University). CUNY and MENA students worked in bi-national teams to:
- Explore UN Sustainable Development Goals #6: Clean Water and Sanitation and #10: Reducing Inequalities
- Engage in experiential project-based learning to examine the UN SDG theme in their communities
- Create a conference presentation
We now invite student teams to discuss their projects at the synchronous conference and gallery of asynchronous presentations, attend guest lectures on the subjects they have been studying, and learn about how the GSACS experience can help them pursue a successful career path.
Featured Speakers
Zahid N. Quraishi
Zahid N. Quraishi was appointed as a United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey on June 22, 2021. He previously served for two years as a United States Magistrate Judge in the Trenton Vicinage. Zahid, who is of Pakistani ancestry, is the first Muslim American Article III judge in the United States. Prior to his appointment to the federal bench, he was Chair of Riker Danzig’s White Collar Criminal Defense and Investigations Group and his firm’s first Chief Diversity Officer. His practice focused on white collar criminal defense, internal corporate investigations, and complex civil litigation.
Before joining Riker, Zahid served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey for over five years.
This past year, Zahid was recognized for his historical appointment as a district judge by the Consul General of Pakistan at a reception in his honor in New York City. He also was recently selected by SABA-NJ for its 2021 Legal Excellence Award. He has been recognized in his legal field by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as one of the country’s leading white collar lawyers, Best Lawyers in America®, a peer review of
U.S. lawyers, and “Super Lawyers” by Thomson Reuters. In 2019, Zahid received APALA-NJ’s Professional Achievement Award, SABA-NJ’s Standing Ovation Award, and NJMLA’s Trailblazer of the Year Award.
Saed K. Khayat
Professor in Hydrogeology and Isotopes Hydrology
College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology
Palestine Technical University Kadoorie (PTUK), Tulkarm, Palestine
Email: s.khayat@ptuk.edu.ps
Senior researcher at Palestine Technical University Kadoorie Tulkarm. Works as Hydrogeologist and hydro-geochemist within the framework of integrated water resources Management. His work is focusing on various aspects of climate change impacts on water resources. Works for several years at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Halle Germany. Has more than 50 Publications, and participated in 8 international projects related to water management, water education, and innovative water solutions for water scarcity in the Middle East.

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