Executive Director's Message - Dr Abdul Sattar Al-Taie

As Executive Director of Qatar National Research Fund, I am honored to have witnessed the organization mature and develop so surely and so rapidly since its formation, in 2006.

In the short space of time since then, from the original idea conceived by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Qatar National Research Fund has developed into an organization that is a real agent for progress in the field of research in Qatar.

Our mission clearly outlines our objectives, but these can be summarized as supporting original, competitively selected research that benefits Qatar's vision to become a knowledge-based society. In order to achieve this we have introduced research opportunities at all levels, and hope to widen our actions further as we progress.

The first program launched, the Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) is now firmly established as a twice-yearly opportunity for students across Qatar to gain exposure to a real research environment.

QNRF's flagship funding program, the annual National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) has been an unequivocal success, attracting researchers of the highest caliber, both at home and abroad and I am particularly pleased to see an increasing number of collaborative proposals, not only from researchers in Qatar, but from teams across the globe, all of whom are bringing their expertise to Qatar. Although we are dedicated to funding proposals in the national interest, such interests often happily coincide with both regional and international research goals and we will continue to encourage such partnerships by promoting the program both here and abroad, to academia and industry, building on our success so far. Further information regarding our detailed funding priorities can be found on our website www.qnrf.org

We have not been working alone in creating this research culture however. As the Qatar National Research Survey (QNRS) testifies, much has been happening in Qatar and the number of research papers has amplified rapidly over recent years. Our partners in government, education and business, as well as our fellow Qatar Foundation members, have all been active participants in this process and I am confident that the QNRS will continue to reveal wider and even richer results.

We have many more activities, both current and planned, and I hope we can look forward to your continued interest in the future. If you would like further information, or to forward us your feedback, please contact us using the link at the bottom of this page.