Qatar has demonstrated a firm commitment to research and development, most evident in the 2.8 per cent of Qatar's gross domestic product that is allocated to research. When Qatar Foundation established Qatar National Research Fund it was to further this commitment and in recognition of the necessity of research to furthering the Foundation’s aim of transforming Qatar into a knowledge-based economy.
Research is essential to economic growth, imperative to educational excellence and intrinsic to the development of community. It acts as a spur to technological invention and fosters creativity in industry. It is through innovation in research that we are able to maximize our natural resources as well as preserve our environment. It is to the benefit of the health and minds of the nation; our greatest resource. The students here in Education City, Doha, and across Qatar will be gifted the opportunity to study in a research driven environment, witnessing and contributing to the discoveries of tomorrow. These students will be better educated and better equipped to be the leaders, scientists and visionaries of our future.
Qatar National Research Fund aims to facilitate original, competitively selected research in engineering and technology, physical and life sciences, medicine, humanities, social sciences and arts. The National Priorities Research Program will be the largest funding activity of Qatar National Research Fund and the primary means by which we will strive to address the needs of the nation. A focused research program can not only achieve the goals outlined above but can also contribute to the enhancement of Qatar’s global reputation and attract outside investment; success breeds success.
Funding is one element of our strategy though. We aim to achieve our objectives not just through financial provision but by fostering partnerships, by acting as a forum for debate and the dissemination of ideas. Our practices and programs encourage collaboration, in academia and through public private partnership, throughout the nation and, by reaching out to Arab expatriate scientists, throughout the world.
As a member of Qatar Foundation we are in a unique position, located in Education City, which not only houses campuses of five of the world’s leading universities but is also the location of the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP). On schedule to open Spring 2008, QSTP aims to fuel Qatar’s knowledge economy by encouraging companies from around the world to develop and commercialize their technology in Qatar, and by helping entrepreneurs to launch start-up technology businesses. In the near future we will also be joined by Sidra Medical and Research Center. Sidra will be both a specialty teaching hospital and research center working in partnership with Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Hamad Medical Corporation and Qatar University.
With these partners, and with others, Qatar National Research Fund’s long term vision is to not only address the economic and social needs of Qatar, but to exceed them.
Dr. Amir Al Saadi
