Qatar University’s (QU) Al Bairaq Program, which is under the university’s Center for Advanced Materials (CAM), announce the launch of the 16th cycle of “I am a Researcher,” which is a symposium for research and innovation and will be held on February 20, 2019. The track is designed for Qatari high school seniors and aims to engage and stimulate student curiosity about science.
Under professional supervision and guidance, students experience hands-on research by experimenting with different materials in a laboratory setting. The program offers students a unique opportunity to get involved in ongoing research conducted at QU and work with university professors and professional researchers from various scientific fields. This track, which is being presented for the eighth consecutive year, has generated a highly qualified generation capable of leading and serving the country to achieve Qatar National Vision 2030.
This cycle includes the participation of nine high school students from four different Qatari Schools: Al-Arqam Academy for Girls, Omar bin Al-Khattab Secondary School for Boys, Jassim Bin Hamad Secondary School for Boys and Zubaida Secondary School for Girls.
Students will be working on four prestigious areas of research, the first of which is “Qatar-robotic automation,” a research on how to use robotics and the design-build-test approach in the field of firefighting and buildings evacuations during hazardous condition. Another research will involve the usage of polymeric membranes in the field of wastewater treatment. The third research involves the fabrication & testing of toughened epoxy composites for light weight automotive applications. The final area, is a research on the synthesis, characterization and application of a new electro spun polystyrene/al2o3 nanocomposite super hydrophobic coatings. In addition, students will receive various scientific workshops to enhance their research skills such as how to write scientific research, presentations skills, safety and laboratory regulation, critical thinking and many other workshops.
The Al Bairaq Program was launched in 2010 by the Center for Advanced Materials (CAM) at QU, under the leadership of Dr. Noora Al-Thani, President of Al Bairaq Program and Outreach and Communication Section Head. This year, the program won the bronze award in the 2018 Reimagine Education conference, where 1,150 educational projects competed in 17 categories. Al Bairaq is the first Qatari program to win the award for three consecutive years and the only Arab program to win the category “cultivating curiosity,” which demonstrates the distinction and visibility of the program on a global scale and its recognition by global learning institutions as a successful program with strong output.