Al Suwaidi:Human Resources Would Help Implement Research Strategy

Doha, October 21 (QNA) -Faisal Mohamed Alsuwidi, President of Research and Development at Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development said on Sunday that the Joint Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum and the Arab Expatriate Scientists Network Symposium 2012 was marked by the launching of Qatar's strategy for research and development as the first initiative in the field that would help all workers in this area focus on Qatar's major requirements in research and development. He told QNA on the sidelines of the forum that many institutions took part in the development of the strategy, including Qatar University , Hamad Corporation the education city's universities . Some 100 persons and institutions took part in the effort,he added. The strategy includes some 76 proposals in the areas of biomedicine, environment and energy, computer and information, arts and humanitarian and Islamic studies. He said that there is a need for human resources to help implement the research strategy. "We are in the process of filling in the gap by a way or another,'' he said. Qatar Foundation signed on Sunday a strategic cooperation agreement with the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Technology Lab for seven years to help fill in that gap, he noted. International partnerships would help start such projects, he said, adding that investment in research has long-term objectives, noting that Qatar has dedicated 2.8% of GDP to fund scientific research and development. Qatar Foundation's objectives go hand in hand with Qatar's 2030 Vision which will eventually transform Qatar's economy into knowledge-based, Alsuwaidi said. (QNA)