(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Applied research projects at Qatar University occupy the largest area in its research map, aimed at developing knowledge and localising innovation in light of the university's strategy for 2018-2022 and in line with Qatar's strategy for research, development and innovation 2030 as well as the aspirations of Qatar National Vision 2030 and its aspirations towards building a knowledge-based economy based on research and development.
The university's Office of Research Support (Grants and Contracts) manages applied scientific research projects that respond to national priorities and meet the country's needs in sectors of high priority, such as health, energy, food security and technological readiness, in co-operation with entities inside and outside the country with the aim of promoting knowledge and localising innovation.
In an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA), Director of the Office of Research Support Dr Mohamed al-Salem said that QU is exerting unremitting efforts to support applied projects to develop knowledge and localise innovation through existing research programmes such as the High Impact Grants Programme and the Co-operative Grants Programme with internal funding, and also by issuing new research programmes.
He pointed out that 46 funded projects received a patent grant, while the number of patent registration applications of other projects exceeded 200 locally and internationally, many of which are close to obtaining a patent grant certificate.
He explained that these projects cover multiple fields, which include industry (3 projects), chemical engineering (13), electrical engineering (7), technology (14), healthcare (2), environmental science (1) and computer engineering (6).
Dr al-Salem said in the industrial sector QU has eight application projects on food security in co-operation with Qafco. He also referred to the partnership with the Japanese Marubeni Corporation, through a grant programme to finance the development of research concepts with advanced results at QU to communicate with industrial partners and businessmen in the first step in the prototyping phase, indicating that seven projects were nominated from this programme, and two specialised projects for the Vegetable Factory Pilot Plant to support food security and electric vehicle.
He underlined that QU also has a partnership with other industrial institutions through high-potential projects, and innovative projects proposed by research centres at the university, and is particularly looking for sustainable solutions at the level of technological readiness.
Dr al-Salem said that the Office of Research Support, which works in co-operation with many entities in the university's research and graduate studies sector, establishes and supports the university research community through efforts aimed at paving the way for good and successful research results, and helps faculty members and researchers in preparing and submitting proposals, finding new sources and opportunities for funding, and identifying research funding opportunities by working with local industrial entities, Qatari government agencies and international partners.
He noted that the Office manages three types of research: internal research that is funded by the university; external research, which is funded by other bodies such as the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF); and industrial research, which is funded by companies and institutions from the various sectors in the State.
QU offers six types of internal research, namely collaborative grants and high impact grants aimed at conducting research activities in co-operation with the corporate and government sectors, a concept development grant that provides an opportunity to fund university research that leads to advanced results to communicate with industrial partners and businessmen, grants for students to build their research expertise, grants for the National Capacity Building Programme for Qatari faculty members, and the International Research Co-operation Programme grants launched in 2018 to collaborate with foreign universities and enhance international research co-operation, with the aim of supporting co-financed co-operative projects.
Dr al-Salem pointed out that internal and external grant programmes such as those funded by the QNRF encourage the financing of high-quality research proposals for Qatari researchers. Moreover, more than 120 Qatari researchers have benefited from these grants, which have witnessed an increasing demand during the last three years in relation to the number of Qatari faculty members participating in internal and external research, he added.
Regarding local and international research partnerships, he said that the International Research Co-operation Programme formed a research platform for co-operation between Qatar University and local and regional universities such as Education City universities such as Texas A & M University at Qatar, where two research papers were funded in co-operation with them and with the mother university in Texas in the United States during 2019, in addition to 11 prestigious international universities. Also with Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, 4 research was funded within the International Research Co-operation Programme.
In a related context, he pointed out that the internally-funded collaborative grants include a large number of external partners from various regions of the world, as more than 100 local and international research institutions have been contracted to co-operate in internal grants.
The university, within the framework of external grants funded by the QNRF, has co-operated with 363 institutions internationally and internally within ten years, Dr al-Salem pointed out.
He emphasised that all research programmes support the participation of university students, whether at the undergraduate or graduate level, pointing out that there is a specialised programme for student research funded by the university, as well as a National Science Promotion Programme that aims to provide an excellent opportunity for high school students in Qatar and undergraduate students at QU to work together under the supervision of the university's highly qualified faculty and researchers.
Dr al-Salem said that QU is now working on establishing a new internal research programme to fund new scholarships for post-graduate students and support postdoctoral research, in addition to programmes funded by the QNRF, namely the Undergraduate Research Experience Programme (UREP), the post-graduate scholarship and the post-doctoral research grant programme.
He attributed the university's acquisition of a large percentage of funding and research grants at the state level to being the first national university for higher education in Qatar, which provides high-quality academic programmes for university education and post-graduate studies, and includes a distinguished and diverse group of faculty members and researchers distinguished by their ability on innovation.
He explained that QU is one of the first universities in the Arab world that supported research for more than ten years, noting that the quality of research and studies is relevant to local and regional challenges and contributes to achieving the needs and aspirations of society.
He also affirmed Qatar University's support for high-impact multidisciplinary research and studies that fall under the basic research priorities and the four approved research pillars, which are health and biomedical sciences, energy and environment, social sciences and humanities, and information and communication technology.
On the most important current and upcoming research projects for the current year, Dr al-Salem said that the Office of Research Support seeks to focus efforts on directing research opportunities to be in line with Qatar National Vision 2030. Therefore, it seeks to link research with the industrial development in the country, as the challenges are mainly related to strengthening more research co-operation with the industrial sector in the State in the fields of energy, environment, resources, sustainability, society and identity, health and information and communication technology.
He explained that one of the most important research projects currently being implemented under the supervision of the office is QU Emergency Response Grant (ERG) which provides a bridge to support new and early stage investigations.
He noted that the grant supported nine projects covering five research areas: basic molecular research, clinical research, social-behavioural research, infectious disease epidemiology, and e-health.
He also referred to the Concept Development: Emergency Response grant (CD-ER) that deals with the growing demand for innovative solutions, and seeks to enable the development of innovative prototypes, processes and innovative platforms. It covered seven additional awarded projects.
As for the upcoming projects, he said that the university is in the process of implementing the Transformational Science and Technology Programme (TSTP), which is a specific research programme on Transdisciplinary Science and Technology (TST) in the pillars of Qatar University, in addition to an expected set of programmes in innovation and industrial co-operation.
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