Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) was awarded three research grants worth over $2.5mn by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) during the sixth annual QNRF Forum recently.
GU-Q has already been awarded research grants of $6.2mn by QNRF since the first competition in 2007. In the current competition, Georgetown’s success rate was 25%, higher than the overall competition average, and twice the success rate for the other social sciences proposals.
“The recognition of our work by QNRF shows that our investment in establishing the same strong research ethos at the Qatar campus as in Washington, is paying dividends,” said GU-Q’s dean, Dr Gerd Nonneman.
“Some of the world’s top researchers are choosing to join our faculty. Qatar Foundation’s research grants are a welcome accolade for Georgetown’s contribution to building a genuine research culture in Qatar,” he explained.
The three GU-Q projects are “An Experimental Evaluation of the Returns to Skill Training of Migrant Workers in Qatar”, co-led by Dr Ganesh Seshan, “Assessing the Effectiveness of Interfaith Initiatives”, co-led by Dr Patrick Laude, and “Safeguarding Food and Environment in Qatar (SAFE-Q)”, co-led by Dr Zeynep
Topaloglu.
These projects also involve collaborations with top research institutions around the world and in Doha, including the World Bank, the University of Cambridge, Brunel University, the University of Western Sydney, and the Doha Centre for Interfaith Dialogue.
Dr John Crist, director of research at GU-Q, said: “This year’s winning projects will expand knowledge about several vital aspects of Qatar’s development plans, including food security, the training of migrant workers, and Qatar’s global leadership in promoting interfaith dialogue. Funding research like this about important social policies and goal helps improve the return on the large investments Qatar has made in these areas.”
This year’s annual forum, held under the patronage of Faisal Alsuwaidi, president of QF R&D, was themed “Building on Success”, and was attended by more than 400 members of Qatar’s research community.
Research grants were awarded to 162 proposals from 22 different institutions in Qatar during the seventh cycle of its flagship National Priorities Research Programme.