Inventions and discoveries are crucial for national development, renaissance, and progress. Thus, all the nations provide immense importance and funding to scientific research. This incited the Qatar University Young Scientists Center (QUYSC) to launch a research funding program entitled "National Science Promotion Program (NSPP)” for the promotion of scientific research among the Qatari youth community. The program enabled students to work under the supervision of skilled researchers in various research projects of national interest for a duration of 6 months (September 2021- February 2022).
The final ceremony of the first cycle of NSPP was conducted on 29 March 2022, at Ibn Khaldoon Hall, Qatar University. Wherein, the winners of NSPP in different categories (i.e. high school students, undergraduates, winning researchers) were acknowledged. The event was honored by the esteemed presence of Prof. Mariam Ali Al-Maadeed, Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies at Qatar University, and Mrs. Garisa Al-Suwaidi, Scientific Research Consultant, Department of Curriculum and Learning Resources at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
The renowned judging panel consisted of Dr. Mohamad Ussama Al Homsi, Deputy Medical Director of Medical Education, Research, and Quality at National Center for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR); Prof. Mohammed Abu-Dieyeh, Acting Head of the Biological and Environmental Sciences Department at the College of Arts and Sciences, Prof. Ahmed Massoud, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at the College of Engineering, Dr. Latifa Ali Al-Darwish, Organization Development Consultant and Coach and a successful businesswoman and Dr. Nikhil Navkar, Senior Research Scientist at the Department of surgery at Hamad Medical Corporation.
High school students were acknowledged for their oral presentations and outstanding contributions to the research projects. Saqer Hamad Al-Rumaihi & Essa Ahmad Al-Mohannadi banged the first prize in high student category; Hajar Aljumaily & Maha Al-Meraghi hit the second prize in high school student category; and, Mohammad Yousef Al-Jaber & Mohammed Khalid Al-Hajri were awarded the third prize in the high student category. Ms. Khadija Muhammad Abdul Quddus from Qatar University was awarded for the best poster presentation in the undergraduate student category, along with QAR 10,000 as an allowance for the international scientific conference. The winning professors/researchers were also honored for their outstanding research contributions and supervision.
The winning projects presented by the high school students in the event were as follows. Mohammad Yousef Al-Jaber & Mohammed Khalid Al-Hajri presented on “Toxicity evaluation of two surfactants with anti-corrosion properties on the embryonic development of zebrafish” guided by Dr. Gheyath K. Nasrallah; Hajar Aljumaily & Maha Al-Meraghi presented on “The Effect of the Aryl hydrocarbon receptor Inhibition on the CTLA-4 Immune System in Colon Cancer Stem Cells” supervised by Dr. Hesham M. Korashy; Mohammed Al-Khanji & Mohammed Radwani presented on “Application of Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs) and Ni-Co-S (NCS) – decorated nanosorbents for Wastewater Treatment” trained by Dr. Marwa El-Azazy; Sara Al-Sada & Noor Al-Badr presented on “SIRT1, a novel potential target that underpin CD44-promoted breast tumor cell invasion” guided by Prof. Allal Ouhtit; Sultan Al-Thani & Ali Shams presented on “Bio-sludge Atlas for Qatar: Characterization of bio-sludge from municipal and industrial sources” mentored by Fares Almomani; and Saqer Hamad Al-Rumaihi & Essa Ahmad Al-Mohannadi presented on “Silver grafted Ti3C2-MXene Nanocomposite as Novel Anode Materials for Lithium-Ion-Batteries” guided by Abdul Shakoor (CAM).
In her speech, Prof. Mariam Al-Maadeed, Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies at Qatar University, said, “Qatar University is witnessing immense progression in research and innovation as the result of its researchers’ efforts and achievements in scientific fields. We are proud of our students who participated in NSPP. We believe such opportunities for Qatari youth would definitely contribute to a better knowledge-based economy.”
Prof. Noora Jabor Al-Thani, Director of Qatar University Young Scientists Center (QUYSC), expressed her pride, saying, "The National Science Promotion Program has provided a valuable opportunity for Qatari youth to experience the sophisticated research of national interest and attain the skills to contribute to the progress of the country." Prof. Noora also thanked the program partners, researchers, student participants, event managers and the QUYSC team for the successful completion of the program.