Qatar University (QU) hosted yesterday The Qatar University Annual Research Forum & Exhibition (QUARFE) 2020 under the theme of “University of the Future: Re-Imagining Research and Higher Education”. The event was organized by Office of Research and Graduate Studies at QU.
(QUARFE) is the meeting point for students, researchers and academics from the University’s colleges, centers, and institutes, including partners and stakeholders, to assess and review the institution’s research enterprise.
In compliance with the current conditions produced by (Covid-19) pandemic, the forum activities were launched remotely through the electronic platform Webex with participation of huge number of QU’s employees and other participants.
This year’s high profile event will revolve around the "University of the Future", a university playing its role in sustainable development, despite the current regional and international challenges. It is an occasion to demonstrate new tools or reports on implementing new programs, collaborations, innovations and other relevant projects that take bearing from the Qatar University (QU) Research Roadmap 2018-2022, Qatar National Research Strategy and Qatar National Vision 2030.
More than 300 research in various fields have been presented in cooperation with local and global partners this year.
The Research Forum was opened with a welcome speech by Dr. Hassan Rashid Al-Derham, Qatar University's President in which he welcomed guests, participants and researchers who exchange opinions and ideas about the prospects of the upcoming transformations and future innovations from universities, with emphasis on the utmost importance of developing global cooperation in the field of research, in order to be able to achieve a successful transformation and effectively address the expected and growing needs of society.
The forum also included an opening speech of, The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, H E Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi, in which he highlighted the importance of holding the Forum and shedding light on the great and rapid changes in the world, which necessitate the need to adopt innovative programs and policies to keep pace with these transformations. In order to strengthen the role of universities to face the future challenges, including the importance of global communication and strengthening the dialogue of different civilizations to achieve human progress, enabling researchers to interact with global issues.
Also to bridge the gap between the outputs of higher education and the requirements of the labor market, in order to strengthen the relationship between universities as houses of expertise and ideas with the developmental requirements of the public and private sectors.
Moreover, Dr. Al-Nuaimi stressed on the importance of the forum which strengthens efforts to build a society and acknowledge economy in light of the rational policy of HH the Emir of the country, which provided all the inputs at the academic level, and according to which Qatar has become an oasis of knowledge and an incubator of the largest leading research and academic institutions in the world to play its role in producing knowledge, indigenizing it, and employing its data in sustainable development in its economic, social, environmental and cultural dimensions.
Under the title: “An Overview of Research and Postgraduate Activities”, Prof. Mariam Al-Maadeed, Vice President for Research and Postgraduate Studies, delivered presentation in which she said: “Excellence in research and education is one of the most important objectives of Qatar University’s vision and mission and its new strategic plan to move from Reform is transforming, and the research and graduate studies sector at the university has sought to establish a research base capable of conducting high-level intermediate research, centered on national priorities in the fields of energy, environment, health, technology, human and social sciences, and has made a big positive difference in the field of innovative research.”
Al-Maadeed also referred to the new research achievements between the forum and the annual research exhibition for the year 2019, which met with great success, the forum for this year, including the launch of the Qatar University Center for Young Scientists, the Agricultural Research Station, collaborative research, partnerships and MoU with many local and international bodies, the opening New doors for co-financing in vital projects, especially the continuous progress of Qatar University's international classification, in addition to the keenness to spread digitization and virtual performance.
Dr. Al-Maadeed also emphasized the protection of intellectual property, academic freedom, and patents, and the continuation of Qatar University in ensuring the sustainability and diversification of resources and funding through new internal and external grants promising rentier projects that enhance cooperation with industry and society.
The program included various discussion sessions, where the first session was titled: “The University of the Future: A View from Local and International Collaborators,” and it was moderated by Prof. Dr. Saif Al-Suwaidi, Professor of Economics at Qatar University, and the second panel discussion was moderated by Prof. Mahjoub Al-Zwairi. Director of the Center for Gulf Studies at Qatar University, which was titled "Regional and International Challenges and Their Impact on Research Cooperation."
It is worth noting that the forum witnessed virtual participation and attendance from several universities, namely; The Catholic University of Portugal, The International Islamic University Malaysia, The Silesian University of Technology in Poland, Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane in Morocco, University Saint-Joseph of Beirut, in addition to the International Publishing House of Elsevier And Hamad Medical Corporation.
The event concluded with award prizes for the distinguished researchers who have exerted research efforts and achieved achievements that Qatar University are proud of.