THE PENINSULA DOHA: With only one day to go to the closing deadline for the Qatar National Research Fund’s (QNRF) 3rd National Priorities Research Programme (NPRP) cycle, the number of Letters of Intent (LOI) from researchers has surpassed all expectations. The annual NPRP is QNRF’s largest funding research programme. Only two years old, it now attracts attention from researchers around the globe. “Last year, we had 748 submissions from 186 organizations in 33 countries,” said Dr Sattar Al Taie, Executive Director of QNRF. “This year, we have already far surpassed that number. It is an indication of the programme’s success that the number of applicants is increasing exponentially and it allows us to select the very best and most appropriate research for funding.” Applicants have until tomorrow, to submit LOIs for funding through QNRF’s online submission website. Awards range from $20,000 to $350,000 per proposal per year, for research projects of one, two or three years. While the NPRP’s catchment is international, its focus is on Qatar National priorities in research As such, it complements the Qatar National Vision 2030. Research underway by Qatari researchers extends form: Images of Muslim Women in Translated Mideast Media Sources to Optimization and Advanced Process Control in LNG Operations. In all, QNRF is supporting 140 research programmes running across a broad of spectrum from Health Sciences to Engineering and Information Technology & Communication Dr Nabeel Al Salem, Associate Director of QNRF said that the fruits of these efforts are long-term. “It is a long process to see the benefits, at least a generation,” he explained. “We are laying the seeds now for benefits that will come years to come. But in the meantime, we are building human capital and research infrastructure, and developing a growing pool of local expertise in research.” The programme has other benefits for Qatar since at least 50 percent of the research must be conducted by a research team here and one principal investigator must be located in the country. In addition, at least 65 percent of the proposed project funds must be administered and expended by an institution in Qatar. The NPRP funds original, competitively selected research in natural sciences, engineering and technology, medical and health sciences, agricultural sciences, social sciences and humanities. It is administered using international standards. http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=October2009&file=Local_News200910217415.xml

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