Hiba Salem

Hiba's research explores the role of Hope in protecting youth aspirations in contexts of displacement. Between 2022 and 2025 she held the post of Pedro Arrupe Research Fellow at the Refugee Studies Centre. Prior to joining Oxford University, Hiba was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cambridge in collaboration with the REACH Initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She received her PhD in Education from the University of Cambridge, through which she studied Syrian refugee students’ well-being in schools in Jordan

Hiba’s research examines the connections between education and community well-being in contexts of displacement. Her work seeks to learn from the lived experiences of refugee communities, especially refugee children and youth. In her previous work, Hiba studied the implications of education models in Jordan on Syrian refugee students’ well-being and aspirations. She has also consulted on a number of projects examining education initiatives and policies worldwide, with a special focus on the Middle East.

Interests: refugee integration policies, education, hope, belonging, well-being, student voice