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Experts at a panel discussion during the opening plenary of the Annual Research Conference 2014 ( ARC’14) emphasised that consistency of vision, collaboration and leadership are the most integral elements for the success of a research programme. |
ARC’14 that started yesterday at Qatar National Convention Centre, supports Qatar Foundation’s Research & Development (QF R&D) mission to build the nation’s innovation and technology capacity while addressing immediate social needs.
The opening panel was attended by Faisal M Alsuwaidi, president QFR&D, Dr Steven Chu, former U S Secretary of Energy and Nobel Prize winning physicist, Dr Hiroaki Kitano, president and CEO of Sony Computer Science Laboratories in Japan, and Dr David J. Galas, principal scientist, Pacific Northwest Diabetes Research Institute, US. The session was moderated by Natasha Kaplinsky, a news presenter and journalist.
Alsuwaidi said that the first effort of his team was to set up the strategy for research which was evolved through a participatory process. “We are now preparing state of the art infrastructure for facilitating research to address the grand challenges of the country and the region,” he said.
Alsuwaidi remarked that the plans are going on in the right path and expectations on the outcomes of the research are high. “All these efforts will be turned into bigger things in future. This is not a short term programme. Developing the research into desired outputs will take some time.”
Deliberating the importance of research agenda, Dr Chu said that leadership was an extremely important element for the success of research. He also emphasised on the need to develop human capacity and to nurture intellectual capabilities of a country for the success of any research programme.
Dr Galas suggested that a research strategy has several goals which are both short term and long term. “Setting up state of the art infrastructure and the facilities can help get immediate results.
“At the same time, creating an appropriate setting and inculcating a sense of curiosity among the youngsters is also very important as a long term goal,” Dr Galas said.
The panels also emphasised on the need for collaborative projects to get the most out of the research. They noted that it will allow the local scientists to tap into the research outcomes that are going on in other parts of the world.