Statistics presented recently at the Annual Research Forum and Exhibition 2019 of Qatar University (QU) showed that QU research output grew by about six times during the period from 2010 to 2018, and the proportion of publishing in the top 10 scientific journals in the world rose from 15.9% to 40.8% during the period.
The annual event, held under the theme “Research Transformation through the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Challenges and Social Innovations”, is a meeting point for students, researchers and academics from the university’s 10 colleges, centres and institutes, including partners and stakeholders, to assess and review the institution’s research enterprise.
QU President Dr Hassan bin Rashid al-Derham said the forum represents a platform to unveil the scientific outcome and research output in a university that strives to strengthen its global standing locally, regionally and internationally in the framework of achieving its vision of Qatar University. “To be regionally recognised for distinctive excellence in education and research, an institution of choice for students and scholars and a catalyst for the sustainable socio-economic
development of Qatar”.
He added that the content of the policy of the corporate university provides for the transformation into a research institution and academic at the same time, and this is different from the previous perception that the university is a place for academic education only, pointing out that research growth is a long-term process and requires time, financial support and information along building an internal and external network, which the university has recognised and has been working on it in the past years.
Al-Derham said that the QU has formulated a policy based on three pillars: to define a set of clear objectives based on the vision of the QU, to build a leadership team that believes in vision and aims at achieving the goals, and to develop a plan for scientific research and graduate studies and provide the requirements for success, reviewing the successes achieved by the QU in this regard.
He noted the efforts made by the leadership team to achieve the objectives of the QU in the field of scientific research, under the supervision of the vice president for Scientific Research and Graduate Studies.
QU President said the number of research publications in the university rose from 235 publications in 2010 to 1,560 publications last year, an increase of more than six times.
He said that this large difference between the two numbers indicates the amount of effort exerted by the university in its various faculties and research centres.
He said the development of scientific research has now reached dozens of programmes such as doctoral, master, diploma and specialised certificates, compared to one programme in 2002.
Prof Mariam al-Ali al-Maadeed, vice president for Research and Graduate Studies, said scientific excellence is one of the main objectives of QU’s strategy 2018-2022, pointing out that the strategic objectives for this purpose are to support research and development and innovation in selected research areas that are compatible with national needs and future aspirations, strengthening the culture of research and innovation, diversifying the sustainability of research projects and programs and excellence in graduate programmes.
Al-Maadeed said the university has more than 20,000 students with 65% being Qatari, in addition to nearly 18 research centres to date and 54 postgraduate programmes in multiple disciplines and fields.
Al-Maadeed said the university has managed to publish more than 6,000 research papers over the last few years in various fields such as engineering, energy, environment, medicine, materials sciences, management, entrepreneurship and other fields and important scientific fields.
She said the global collaborative partnership of QU has expanded to include many of the world’s leading universities, institutes and research centres, where it has signed 68 memorandums of understanding to strengthen the relations and partnerships.
The forum included lectures and discussions, which began with special dialogue for graduate students from Qatar, the US, the UK, Australia, Japan, Turkey and the Netherlands.
During the forum awards were presented to QU professors and students, which were research excellence award, the best research poster award, the graduate award, the visual presentation challenge award, as well as first-time awards from Qatar Petroleum and Barzan Holding.
The exhibition included about 300 research posters for QU employees, reflecting the latest research achievements and innovations in the fields of social sciences, energy, environment, health and information technology, as well as a number of pavilions for local companies from different sectors, offering a number of collaborative projects as well as first-time projects that attained international patents. (QNA)
