QF lecture series in UK showcases research underway in Qatar

Some of the unique research underway in Qatar’s universities was in focus during the Qatar Foundation (QF) UK Lecture Series concluded recently. The lecture series also was an occasion to cement the Qatari academic community’s global standing.With 2013 marking a year-long initiative intended to celebrate the existing Qatari and British partnerships and develop new ones, QF contributed to this campaign by inviting a select group of Qatar’s senior academics to deliver engaging discourses at various British universities with  a two-month-long lecture series.Dr Thilo Rehren, director of University College London Qatar, delivered the first seminar of the series entitled, ‘Glass in Ancient Egypt - Splendour for the Pharaoh,’ at Durham University last month.Journeying through archaeological, iconographic and textual evidence from 500 years of ancient Egyptian history to uncover the importance of glass during this era, Dr Rehren highlighted the crucial role of glass as a substitute for precious stones in jewellery, architectural decoration, and diplomatic relations. He also drew parallels with the political importance placed on valuable commodities, such as oil and gas, in the modern-day era. Commenting on the success of the QF lecture series, Dr Rehren said, “The idea was for us to present our research in the UK, showing that academics in Qatar are active and delivering compelling and insightful research.” He explained that the lecture series represents the evolution of what used to be a one-way flow of knowledge into a mutual exchange.Dr Amira Sonbol, professor of history at Georgetown University  in Qatar, delivered the second lecture in the series entitled, ‘The Modern Arab Woman,’ at the School of Oriental and African Studies last month. She unravelled the constructed narratives of the modern Arab women to uncover the importance of overlooked specificities, disjunctures and variations of women in the Arab world. Dr Sonbol delved into the experiences and struggles of Arab women and re-examined the existing legal sources to address women’s history by questioning the conceptual basis of the diffusion of laws pertaining to women.Dr Patrick Philippe Meier, director of social innovation at Qatar Computing Research Institute delivered the final lecture of the series entitled, ‘The Future of Next Generation Humanitarian Technology,’ at Imperial College London earlier this month. A foremost leader in humanitarian technology, Dr Meier shared his future visions of crowd sourcing,  multitasking and data science among other things, to discuss how emerging technologies in these areas are reshaping responses to crises, such as floods, typhoons and earthquakes.