Leading experts from Qatar and France are discussing energy and environment matters at the ongoing Qatari-French Academia & Industry Initiative 2016.
For the first time, Total and the French embassy are organising a joint innovation forum, bringing together leading academics, researchers, scientific professors and industry experts from Qatar and France to explore future challenges and solutions for energy and the environment. 
The forum is one of the many initiatives launched by Total this year to celebrate its 80th anniversary of continuous presence in Qatar, according to a press statement, and is being held under the patronage of Qatar Foundation (QF) and Qatar University (QU). Institut Francais du Qatar, Engie, Veolia and Alstom are sponsors of the event alongside Total.
The opening of the forum was attended by HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, vice-chairperson and CEO of QF; Eric Chevallier, French ambassador to Qatar; and Guillaume Chalmin, managing director of Total EP Qatar and group representative.
The two-day forum, taking place on the QF and QU premises until today, comes in support of the National Priorities Research Programme’s 10th cycle. Areas of common interest for research and development will be investigated by the Qatari and French institutes’ representatives, and collaborative projects are expected to be submitted in joint proposals for this cycle, the statement notes.
This event is also an opportunity to identify opportunities for collaboration in education between Qatari and French institutions.
The keynote speeches were delivered by Chalmin, who presented on the forum’s expectations, and Dr Hamad al-Ibrahim, executive vice-president of Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D), who presented on QF and QF R&D.
Pierre Montaud, director of TRC-Q (Total Research Centre in Qatar), stressed that the event was “an opportunity to strengthen ties between the education sector and energy industries, and build strong bridges and interaction between the two in order to achieve business sustainability and innovation”.


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