Qatar National Rresearch Fund unveils joint research initiative with British partners

Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), a member of Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D), has launched a joint research support programme in partnership with the UK Government’s Science & Innovation Network, The British Council, and UK Higher Education International Unit.

The initiative entitled ‘Qatar/UK Research Networking Programme’ reflects QNRF’s commitment to promote collaboration with British researchers in an attempt to foster a scientific culture that supports Qatar Foundation’s (QF) mission to build Qatar’s innovation and technology capacity, while helping the nation develop into a hub of excellence through QF’s science and research pillar, QF R&D.

“The ‘Qatar/UK Research Networking Programme’ is a new and exciting initiative that will promote knowledge transfer, establish new research links, and develop existing ones between some of the best minds in the research community,” said Dr Abdul Sattar Al-Taie, Executive Director of QNRF. “This initiative will also promote advanced scientific research in a variety of fields, further bolstering long-term sustainable development and knowledge transfer in Qatar.”

As part of the new initiative, two-member teams, comprising a researcher from Qatar and another from the UK, are invited to submit proposals to QNRF regarding the organisation of research workshops in Qatar in selected research areas. At these workshops each senior scientist will provide mentorship to their junior colleagues, in an effort to facilitate partnerships that will lead to the planning and submission of joint research bids in the future to UK and Qatar funding agencies.

“This new initiative is in line with QNRF’s strategy to support research efforts that contribute to the development of Qatar’s knowledge-based economy, and QNRF is extremely proud to be playing an active and significant role in supporting the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030,” said Dr Abdulnasser Al-Ansari, Deputy Executive Director of QNRF.

The new programme aims to lay the foundations of a cooperation framework between Qatari researchers and their counterparts in the UK, as discussed during the ‘QF/UK Road Ahead Forum’ held at King’s College London earlier this year.

This cooperation framework will function as a capacity building platform for junior researchers in both countries, while providing undergraduate and post-graduate students in Qatar with exposure to the latest research underway in the UK.

The deadline for proposal submissions is 28^th September 2015, with the results set to be announced in December 2015. For more information about the ‘Qatar/UK Research Networking Programme’ or any of the capacity-building programmes offered by QNRF, please visit www.qnrf.org.