DOHA: Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) has hosted its fourth Research Outcome Seminar at Education City in Doha.
Themed ‘Education for the Future of Qatar’, the seminar saw QNRF-funded researchers share results and benefits of their completed projects in the field of education, with the public.
By investing in cutting-edge-research, QNRF is enhancing a culture that supports Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) on its mission to build the country’s innovation and technology capacity and help it develop into a hub of research excellence through QF’s science and research pillar, QF R&D.
“The research outcome seminars provide a glimpse into the work QNRF is funding in Qatar in various disciplines,” said Dr Abdul Sattar Al Taie, Executive Director, QNRF.
During the seminar, which focused on education, Dr Michael Romanowski, Professor of Education, Qatar University, presented his findings and analysis of Qatari educational reform.
His study explored implications of reforms underway through the ‘Education for a New Era’ initiative. By gaining insight from teachers, principals, and parents, Dr Romanowski analysed how the initiative is making an impact on learning in Qatar.
His research data, collected from schools across Qatar, allows for comparisons and highlights issues that have been improved in Qatar’s school system.
“Research in the field of education is important for any country’s future but, in Qatar, it will allow us to find ways in which to strengthen the research culture within the local community,” said Dr Michael Reksulak, Director, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, QNRF.
“This will feed back into the education system and contribute to the transition to a knowledge-based economy.”
Dr Ziad Said, from School of Engineering Technology at College of the North Atlantic-Qatar, presented his team’s research finding regarding Qataris’ interest in science at school.
The joint research assessed pre-college Qatari students’ attitudes towards science, including their disposition towards pursuing it in higher education, which would lead them into science-based careers. It also identified factors that impact these interests and attitudes.
The project draws from a sample of Qatari students and science teachers from grades 3 to 12. These findings will help provide possible methods to enhance Qatari students’ interest in pursuing science majors at university.
QNRF also presented a film produced by a research team headed by Dr Pamela Taylor, Professor, Art Education, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Dr John Geldart, VCU-Qatar, and Dr ElNour Hamad, Researcher at Doha Institute’s Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies. The Peninsula
