The Finance and Banking Sector has generated the maximum interest amongst researchers applying for the Dubai Economic Research Award (DERA), with more than 30 per cent of the submissions received for the award, originating from this sector, according to an announcement from the Department of Economic Development (DED).
The Department also announced that in response to requests from potential applicants, the last date for receipt of submissions for DERA has been extended to November 2, 2005. The decision to extend the deadline to coincide with the end of the Holy month of Ramadan was taken at a joint committee meeting with Zayed University.
The DERA was established in January 2005 as a joint venture between the Department of Economic Development and Zayed University with the objective of building a research-enabled knowledge base to support the decision makers in the UAE.
“As the deadline draws closer for the Dubai Economic Research Award (DERA), tremendous interest has been generated amongst researchers, academics and students,” said Khalid Al Kassim, Deputy Director General, DED. “We have been receiving submissions in various economic sectors and hope to encourage more and more people to participate in this award, as this will also enable us to build up our research based knowledge base,” he added.
“The DED has also been working closely with various organisations across the UAE to reach out to prospective researchers and ensure that they are constantly updated about the award,” said Saeed Al Suwaidi, Director of Planning and Studies Division, DED.
In addition to finance and banking, the DED has also received award submissions relating to the economic sectors of Tourism, Healthcare, education, trade & industry, real estate & construction and general economic issues. More than one fifth of the total submissions received to date, relate to Tourism, with the same contribution from the Healthcare sector, while research studies from the Trade & Industry sector and General Economic issues comprise about 12 per cent each of the total submissions. Other submissions span topics from the sectors of education, real estate & construction,
DERA forms part of the DED’s ongoing efforts to advance the cause of research and development in the country. The award is open to all researchers and students resident in the UAE at the time of submission, including both nationals and expatriates. The award spans nine economic sectors including tourism, oil and gas, health, education, finance and banking, industry and trade, real estate and construction and transport and storage and general economic issues.
Ideal subjects for research could include a wide variety of topics ranging from the investment climate in the UAE, Dubai's competitiveness edge, and the economics of the free zones in the country to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), ways and means of diversifying income sources in the UAE or re-engineering the Dubai Government.
