Ahmed Kamal Junina is Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics and Head of the English Department at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza, Palestine. He is also a
Fellow at the Centre for Comparative and International Research in Education (CIRE) at the University of Bristol, UK. He earned his PhD in Applied Linguistics from Auckland University of Technology (AUT), New Zealand, where he was awarded the 2019 ALANZ Best PhD Thesis Prize. Ahmed’s research focuses on English language education in contexts shaped by conflict, displacement, and structural inequality. His academic interests lie at the intersection of applied linguistics, language pedagogy, and sociolinguistics, with a particular focus on resilient pedagogy, how educators and learners adapt and sustain meaningful instruction in times of crisis.
Ahmed’s recent work documents the experiences of Palestinian EFL lecturers in Gaza, examining their use of translanguaging, emotional labor, and digital tools to maintain educational continuity during wartime. More broadly, he investigates how language serves as a resource for survival, empowerment, and political resistance in higher education under occupation. Ahmed is committed to decolonial, critical, and participatory methodologies that foreground the voices of teachers and students navigating disrupted academic realities. Despite extreme challenges, he continues to teach via WhatsApp, mentor students, and lead
RECONNECT, an initiative that supports displaced learners and fosters academic engagement across borders. His scholarship and advocacy were recently featured in a
CBC News report, which highlighted the determination of Palestinian academics working under siege and the broader role of education as a lifeline. His recent publication, “
Displaced but Not Replaced,” offers a powerful reflection on education as both a form of resistance and resilience, particularly in the face of erasure and crisis.
