{
  "id": 13659069,
  "title": "Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: Gaza nurse’s obstacle-laden road to becoming a professor",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/spirit-of-hong-kong-awards-gaza-nurses-obstacle-laden-road-to",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-11T06:15:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3370480/spirit-hong-kong-awards-gaza-nurses-obstacle-laden-road-becoming-professor"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Hammoda Abu-Odah, a Gaza nurse who aspired to become a professor, faced numerous obstacles in his pursuit of higher education, including repeated offers to study abroad that were thwarted by border closures and travel restrictions. Despite these setbacks, Abu-Odah persevered and eventually made it to Hong Kong, where he completed his doctorate at Polytechnic University in 2021 after receiving a Hong Kong PhD fellowship. His journey has earned him a finalist spot in the perseverance category of the Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, a recognition program that highlights individuals and groups who might otherwise go unnoticed. Abu-Odah's research focuses on cancer supportive and survivorship care, palliative care, patient-centred communication, and culturally responsive interventions, and he currently serves as the nursing representative for Palestine on the WHO Regional Palliative Care Expert Network for the Eastern Mediterranean Region.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Sydney Morning Herald",
        "title": "The socialite, her ‘jobless’ ex and his accused ‘mastermind’ father: Inside the murder that shocked Hong Kong",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/the-socialite-her-jobless-ex-and-his-accused-mastermind-father-inside",
        "published": "2026-10-11T02:30:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Age",
        "title": "The socialite, her ‘jobless’ ex and his accused ‘mastermind’ father: Inside the murder that shocked Hong Kong",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/the-socialite-her-jobless-ex-and-his-accused-mastermind-father-inside-13622350",
        "published": "2026-10-11T02:30:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post - Hong Kong",
        "title": "Admission scores fall for Hong Kong physiotherapy courses amid jobs crunch",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/11/admission-scores-fall-for-hong-kong-physiotherapy-courses-amid-jobs",
        "published": "2026-10-11T04:00:20.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}