Palestinian tech student tops class at Dublin university
By Grainne Ni Aodha, Press Association
A Palestinian student has graduated at the top of his class at a Dublin university after creating an AI-powered sustainability app.
Technology student Elias Amro, 25, who is from Bethlehem, came to Ireland in September 2024 to study at Dublin City University (DCU).
He chose to study for a masters in Ireland because of its support for Palestinians and was awarded the Ireland Fellow Programme scholarship.
You would constantly be checking the news, making sure your parents are safe, calling your parents. There's so much uncertainty in day-to-day life in Palestine, and it often left me battling with my own thoughts here in Ireland
He said while he was excited at the opportunity to study at DCU, his mind was often on his family back home.
The government in Israel is acting to deepen its control in the occupied West Bank, while the Irish Government mulls plans to ban goods from illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.
“You would constantly be checking the news, making sure your parents are safe, calling your parents,” he said.
“There’s so much uncertainty in day-to-day life in Palestine, and it often left me battling with my own thoughts here in Ireland.”
Amro said that while he enjoyed modules on cyber security, web application development and entrepreneurship for engineers, he sometimes felt that worrying about his health may affect his studies.
Instead, he topped his class and received a first-class honours in his MSc (Master of Science) in Electronic and Computer Technology.
His final project was the Student Outlet, a sustainability-focused web platform which lets students buy and sell second-hand goods more easily.
Motivated by research indicating that a third of Irish students are facing financial difficulties, Mr Amro also hoped to support the “circular economy” and reduce the amount of reusable items being thrown away.
He also used an AI listing tool to help save students time in buying and selling items from 10 to two minutes.
“You just snap a photo, it’s as simple as that, and it will do the process for you,” he said.
Elias is now hoping to commercialise the Student Outlet platform, and based on existing data, he estimates that if the app was scaled up and used by the DCU student population it could prevent over 700 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.
Despite the success of the project, Amro feared he may fail the course because of stress, and had to develop strategies to look after his wellbeing.
This was supported through counselling sessions provided by DCU and the Irish Council for International Students (ICOS).
“It was very, very overwhelming. It still is to some extent, but at least now I’ve learned much better how to manage it,” he said.
“I made some amazing friends,” he added, and mentioned taking part in activities such as rock climbing and archery.
Amro is now employed in the DCU Mobility Office, and is working on streamlining their software systems to make them more user-friendly and automating other logistical tasks.
He said he is focused on making Ireland his home for now, but Palestine remains on his mind.
“People are still getting bombed now. They’re still annexing more land,” he said, adding that Palestinians live with “this constant fear of just being arrested for literally nothing”.
“You’re able to just live your life in the way that you want to here. Whereas, at the moment, that’s not possible in Palestine.”
