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Qatar Foundation (QF) has awarded this year's Multiversity Grants to seven cross-university projects at Education City, marking a shift towards interconnected academic collaboration that breaks down institutional silos.The initiative leverages Education City's academic ecosystem to catalyse new forms of knowledge sharing, resource amplification, and community stewardship through coordinated collaboration in service of academic excellence."The Multiversity Grants reflect a deliberate shift in how we think about higher education collaboration. Rather than operating singularly and in parallel, these projects bring universities together to work at the intersections of disciplines, institutions, and student needs. This is how we move from excellence in isolation to impact at scale," said Dr Samah Gamar, director of Academic Affairs at QF's Higher Education Division.This year's funded projects span priority areas including innovative pedagogy, interdisciplinary dialogue, Arabic Large Language Models and responsible artificial intelligence, environmental futures, student mobility, and the recognition of undergraduate student scholarship. All initiatives place student learning at their core whilst modelling new approaches to collaborative stewardship across Education City.Among this year's awardees is "Games for Playful and Impactful Pedagogy," a cross-university initiative that develops game-based teaching toolkits to support experiential and hands-on learning. The project brings together faculty from Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q), and Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (VCUarts Qatar) to translate abstract concepts into interactive learning experiences for students across disciplines and universities.Another awarded initiative, "The Multiversity Majlis: Dialogue Across Disciplines," reimagines the traditional majlis as a contemporary academic platform for interdisciplinary dialogue. Developed collaboratively by Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) and VCUarts Qatar, the project engages students in structured dialogue on global challenges, including climate change, food security, migration, and sustainable economies.Other Multiversity Grant recipients include: "Responsible AI and Large Language Models for Social Good in the Arab World," a jointly organised intensive workshop by CMU-Q and Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), focused on developing skills to responsibly apply artificial intelligence—particularly Arabic large language models—to societal challenges."Living Materials: Preserving Student Innovation in Art and Science Through Digital Twins and AI" is a collaboration between VCUarts Qatar and Qatar National Library to digitally preserve student projects through AI-enhanced representations that capture not only final outputs but also the ideas, data, and creative processes behind them."Desert Futures Design Studio" is a cross-institutional design studio involving GU-Q, CMU-Q, HBKU, and VCUarts Qatar, in partnership with Qatar Museums, Earthna Centre for a Sustainable Future, and the architectural firm OMA, exploring how Qatar's desert and rural landscapes can become sustainable, liveable, and culturally vital spaces."OneEC: Connecting Campuses, Simplifying Cross-Registration" is a planning platform developed by NU-Q and GU-Q to enhance access to academic information, advising, and support services for students considering cross-registration opportunities.Finally, "Launching a First-Year Showcase Collection: Recognising Student Work Across Education City" is a collaborative initiative led by CMU-Q, GU-Q, NU-Q, and HBKU that highlights exemplary academic writing by first-year students and reflects the diversity of student voices across Education City. 

University of Doha for Science and Technology (UDST) has signed an Academic Collaboration Contract with three globally recognized UK-based companies: Metaverse Learning Limited, MX Reality Limited, and vGather Limited (Metaverse Hub). The contract marks a milestone in advancing innovation, immersive education, and applied research in Qatar. Through this collaboration, the parties will engage in several key initiatives, including joint applied research projects, and integration of cutting-edge Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR) technologies into education. The companies will also provide training for UDST faculty, internships for students, and contribute to UDST's research proposals and industry-driven initiatives. President of UDST Dr. Salem Al-Naemi commented: "This collaboration is a strategic step toward embedding immersive technologies into applied education and research at UDST. It will enrich the learning experience for our students by allowing them to engage with state-of-the-art VR, AR, and MR tools, and will open new pathways for applied research in areas of national and global relevance. Together, we are positioning UDST as a hub for innovation in Qatar and the wider region, aligned with the national vision for knowledge-based development." CEO of mXreality, Dr. Majid Al-Kader, said: "This partnership represents a powerful collaboration between UDST and our group of businesses — mXreality, Metaverse Learning, and Metaverse Hub. Together, we are committed to accelerating the digital transformation of learning by bringing immersive technology, AI, and innovation into the hands of students. By combining UDST's academic excellence with our expertise in creating engaging, future-focused digital platforms, we will give learners the tools and confidence to succeed in an increasingly dynamic global workforce." This collaboration highlights UDST's commitment to aligning academic learning with real-world innovation, ensuring students and faculty gain access to transformative technologies and global expertise.