The need for collaboration across all sectors in building a research and innovation ecosystem capable of meeting the challenges Qatar faces was highlighted to science and technology leaders by Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D) at a high-level international gathering in Japan.
A QF R&D delegation is currently participating in the Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum’s 14th Annual Meeting, which concludes today in Kyoto. The three-day event has brought together heads of state, government ministers and diplomats, and prominent figures in academia, industry, and policy making to provide a long-term, century-spanning perspective on how scientific and technological advancements will shape and define the future of humankind.
The STS Forum has been attended by a number of dignitaries, including Shinzo Abe, prime minister of Japan and honorary chairman of the STS Forum, and around 1,000 delegates.
HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Mohamed Abdul Wahed Ali al-Hammadi participated in the STS Forum’s 14th Science and Technology Ministers’ Roundtable on ‘Society 5.0’, the concept of a human-centred society that capitalises on technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things,
robotics, and Big Data.
Speaking during a forum session titled: ‘Collaboration Among Academia, Industries, and Government’, Dr Hamad al-Ibrahim, executive vice president, QF R&D, outlined to the audience how the ongoing blockade on Qatar by neighbouring countries has provided fresh impetus for the nation’s research and innovation efforts.
“This situation has given us incentive to reflect on our progress toward building a sustainable, diversified economy, to analyse how we can become more resilient through developing our own capacity across many areas and sectors, and to ensure that we are the drivers of our own
destiny,” he said.
“Necessity can drive action, change, and progress in a research and innovation ecosystem, if it is built on collaboration, synergy, and a vision that all sectors share. Fostering such an ecosystem in Qatar is central to the work of QF R&D.
“The challenges now faced by Qatar have brought us together, increased our awareness of the need to build our resilience, and inspired us to respond positively and with purpose. This mindset will continue to define Qatar’s research and innovation ecosystem, which has no boundaries, only horizons.”
Dr Hamad al-Ibrahim with Lim Chuan Poh, chairman, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore, at the STS Forum in Kyoto.
