Science and Research
Qatar Foundation's main aim in this field is to help build Qatar's innovation and technology capacity by developing and commercializing solutions in key sciences. It is also developing a research strategy built on complementing Qatar-based research efforts with expertise from abroad, to build networks that provide home-grown solutions for Qatar and the region.
A research division was established at Qatar Foundation in 2007 to manage developing a scientific community in Qatar. It has hosted several international conferences in the fields of biotechnology, nanotechnology, and stem cell research.
Qatar Foundation's science and research projects include:
- Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) funds and supports original, competitively selected research by both local and international researchers for projects that fit with Qatar's national research strategy, and that incorporate a Qatar-based partner.
- Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP) is a research and development hub and Qatar’s first free-trade zone, and was inaugurated in March 2009. Over $300 million has been invested to create a world-class facility. Tenants include: ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Rolls-Royce, EADS, and Microsoft
- Qatar Biomedical Research Institute
- Qatar Environmental and Energy Research Institute
- Qatar Computing Research Institute (Arabic: معهد قطر لبحوث الكمبيوتر ) (QCRI) which conducts world-class, multidisciplinary, applied computing research that is relevant to the needs of Qatar, the wider Arab region and the world, leveraging Qatar’s unique historical, linguistic, and cultural heritage
- Sidra Medical and Research Center, a new academic health science center endowed with $7.9 billion, due to open in 2012. Sidra will encompass clinical care, medical education, and biomedical research.
Other science and research initiatives include:
- RAND Qatar Policy Institute – analysis of public policy problems and helps implement long-term solutions for clients across the region
- Qatar Science Leadership Program – develops Qatari science graduates to become future research leaders by arranging internships
- University research programs - the majority of the universities on the Qatar Foundation campus run their own research programs, often collaborating with QF's own applied research bodies to bring new ideas to commercialization
- QF research programs - in addition to the university programs, QF has formed international partnerships, including with the Royal Society and the James Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University
- Distinguished Lecture Series – introduces Qatari students, researchers, and the public to world-class science and scientists
- Qscience.com – publishes high-quality, open-access, peer-reviewed research articles
- Stars of Science – a reality TV show featuring young Arab innovators who compete to transform their ideas to marketable products
In June 2011 Qatar Foundation hosted the seventh World Conference of Science Journalists, which had been scheduled to be held in Cairo but was moved to Doha as a result of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.
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