Qatar Foundation-United Kingdom host joint forum to build strong links in education and research

High-level discussions have taken place between senior leaders at Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) and partners from Britain’s leading research and development, and higher education institutions.

The ‘Qatar Foundation-United Kingdom: The Road Ahead’ Forum provided participants with an opportunity to share the latest developments in ongoing partnerships, as well as explore potential collaborations and initiatives of mutual interest in their respective fields of expertise. 

The event supported Qatar Foundation’s vision to lead the human, social and economic development of Qatar through education and research.  With its mission to promote a culture of excellence, QF’s collaboration with eminent practitioners from the UK was focused on driving innovation and productive change that supports national priorities, as set out in the Qatar National Vision 2030, and to develop cutting-edge infrastructure and initiatives for the benefit of Qatar and beyond.

The day witnessed the announcement of the next stage of the British Library-Qatar Foundation Partnership which will lead to the digitisation of 1.1 million more pages of material related to Qatar and the Gulf’s history that will be shared with researchers, students and the general public for free through Qatar National Library’s online Qatar Digital Library.

Elsewhere, over 1,700 British school children are benefiting from educational and cultural initiatives as well as 40 Arabic language teachers gaining qualifications through the Arabic Language and Culture Pilot Project in partnership with the British Council and the Greater London Authority.

In addition to participation in the Forum by the Embassy of the State of Qatar in the United Kingdom, contributions from the Qatari delegation included presentations in the field of education by representatives of Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), the World Innovation Summit for Education initiative (WISE), Academic Bridge Programme, and Qatar National Library.

These were complemented by research-focused discussions hosted by Qatar Research and Development (QF R&D), Qatar Biomedical Research Institute, Qatar Computing Research Institute, Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) and Qatar Science and Technology Park. 

The event was held at King’s College London with over 200 participants. Breakout sessions were organised in order to allow the academics and research leaders to meet with others in their own field to discuss collaboration. Dr Abdul Sattar Al-Taie, Executive Director of QNRF, led a discussion with representatives of UK research councils about proposals that would promote long-term economic diversification as well as short-term benefits to Qatar’s people.

Other workshops included QF members discussing open access to information, educational innovation, an overview of innovative technologies in the fields of energy, environment and water, as well as discussions about the computing, biomedical and health research landscapes in Qatar. 

The ‘Qatar Foundation-United Kingdom: The Road Ahead’ Forum follows long-term partnership agreements signed with British institutions which have delivered a range of benefits to Qatar and promoted greater understanding about the Arab world in the United Kingdom.   

The discussions held at the Forum will form the basis for a new set of discussions and collaborations between Qatar Foundation and UK partners that participants expect will mirror the fruitful outcomes of previous agreements.