I grew up in a conflict zone. As a Palestinian from Jerusalem, my everyday life was constantly complicated by the Palestinian–Israeli conflict. Because of checkpoints, I had to allow two to three extra hours to travel what should have been a 30-minute bus journey, just to attend my undergraduate lectures. You can imagine what that was like for an architecture student, carrying drawings and enormous models.

My personal experiences had a profound impact on me. I started to question the built environment and how it affects all that we do. In fact, our buildings and cities play a major role in who we think we are – they contribute towards our collective consciousness and identity as a nation. Under political conflict such as in Palestine, the role of the built environment becomes even more significant as it expresses a form of national identity and unity.

I was inspired to come to Cambridge by my supervisor, who heads the Centre for Urban Conflicts Research. Here, we examine far more than architecture. In a place where multidisciplinary research is valued, I am exposed to sociology, politics, geography, psychology and all that directs — or should direct — the design of buildings, institutions, cities and states.

My area of research is incredibly new. Most architecture projects look at the rebuilding of cities, but I am concentrating on developing a city under conflict; that is Ramallah in Palestine. It isn’t about simply post-conflict rebuilding, because the conflict is still there, but about asking how a city can meet the needs of its growing population and inspire its citizens, and how it can become a symbol of the existence of the nation in this world, while still under conflict.

Without scholarships, I couldn’t have immersed myself in my MPhil and PhD studies at Cambridge. I live at Churchill College in accommodation provided especially for families, as my husband and two-year-old son are here with me. It’s a wonderful, supportive environment and has enabled me to achieve so much more even than my PhD.

I’ve attended international symposiums, published papers and organised my own conference. Because of Cambridge, I have combined architecture with politics, and I have been able to absorb and develop the ideas of fellow students from cities as diverse as Beirut, Belfast, Berlin and Nicosia. And when I have finished my doctorate, I can take what I learnt in Cambridge back to Palestine, and contribute to shaping my nation and its future.