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Dr Abdul Sattar Al Taie (left), Executive Director of Qatar National Research Fund, and Faisal Al Suwaidi (centre), President of Research and Development at Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, during the awards ceremony at the fifth Annual Forum, at Qatar National Convention Centre, yesterday.
By Fazeena Saleem
DOHA: Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) yesterday announced research grants worth $121m for 137 projects under its flagship programme, National Priorities Research Program (NPRP).
Twenty-seven institutions received funding submitted to NPRP’s sixth cycle in January, and 147 international research institutions from 26 countries will be collaborating in projects.
Qatar University, Texas A&M University at Qatar and Hamad Medical Corporation received more grants for research proposals of national importance at the QNRF’s fifth Annual Forum, held at Qatar National Convention Centre.
“This cycle placed particular emphasis on alignment with the Qatar National Research Strategy and on local research collaboration, with bonus points awarded to proposals involving stakeholders from Qatar’s academic, government, non-profit, and industrial sectors,” said Dr Abdul Sattar Al Taie, Executive Director of QNRF.
The research proposals were selected on a competitive basis and underwent an evaluation process. Each proposal was sent to five independent international peer reviewers, who shared their evaluation with QNRF for a final funding decision.
“With a 20 percent success rate, NPRP’s sixth cycle demonstrates the improving quality of research in Qatar. Grants were awarded based on QNRF’s strict criteria that take into account originality and quality of the research proposed, alignment with Qatar National Research Strategy, potential benefits to Qatar and the region, and collaboration with other institutions in Qatar, in addition to the peer reviewers’ recommendations,” said Noor Al Merekhi, Program Manager of NPRP.
She explained that the grants were worth between $120,000 and $1.05m, and at least 65 percent of the annual budget had to be expended in Qatar. Likewise, 50 percent of the research must be conducted in Qatar.
Three new research awards will be introduced in the next five years — Grand Challenge Research Program, Small Business Innovation Award and Post Doctoral Research Award.
QNRF also honoured researchers and research offices, with the Best Research Team Award going to Weill Cornell Medical College- Qatar and Best Research Office Award to Texas A&M University at Qatar. The Best Researcher Award, introduced this year, was given to Dr Khalid Ali Qarage of Texas A&M University at Qatar.The Peninsula
