Qatar National Research Strategy Forum Begins Wednesday

Doha, May 13 (QNA) - Aimed at tackling the nation's most pressing research challenges, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development will host on Wednesday the Qatar National Research Strategy Forum 2013, in collaboration with The New York Academy of Sciences. The two-day forum, which will be held on 15 May and 16 May at Qatar National Convention Centre, will bring together leading stakeholders from across Qatar National Research Strategy's (QNRS) key sectors, including academia, government, and research institutes. The forum has been created to provide stakeholders with an ideal platform to advance the nation's research objective of becoming an international centre for research and development by identifying, discussing, and confronting a host of pertinent challenges. Faisal M. Alsuwaidi, President of Research and Development at Qatar Foundation, will be presenting the opening speech in which he will highlight the value of fostering a national research culture. This is in line with Qatar National Vision 2030 and is designed to have a significantly positive impact on the countrys development by addressing the most pressing challenges facing Qatar and the region. "We are determined to align all of our science and research objectives with stakeholder priorities, capabilities and interests by facilitating an environment that allows them to engage with one another and find applicable solutions to some of the research challenges that we face today," said Alsuwaidi. "Qatar Foundation is steadfast in its commitment to plan and manage its research investments in order to fulfill the objectives within the Qatar National Research Strategy and overcome potential obstacles along the way." In his remarks, Michael Goldrich, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The New York Academy of Sciences, will present participants with an overview of the research 'Grand Challenges' that Qatar is facing today. During a series of working groups, stakeholders will actively engage in the deliberations on how to overcome these challenges. In keeping with the objectives of Qatar National Research Strategy (QNRS), which was launched last October, the forum also aims to provide researchers with the opportunity to network and cooperate on future research projects, nationally and internationally. QNRS was developed to guide all R&D investments in Qatar and provides the national framework to align singular objectives alongside the country's priorities, while taking into consideration stakeholder capabilities and interests. It represents the first R&D sector-wide strategy in Qatar and defines five pillars or themes to achieve the country's aspirations: Energy and Environment; Information and Computing Technology; Health and related Life Science and Technologies; Social sciences, Arts and Humanities; as well as enterprise-wide interdisciplinary research and development. The strategy, which is being implemented by Qatar Foundation's research institutes, universities, service providers, government, industry and funders, is expected to nurture and enhance the cycle of innovation from university research through to commercialisation. Another of the strategy's long-term goals is to increase the ratio of researchers in Qatar's workforce by developing capabilities and building a competitive and diversified economy. (QNA)