February 2020: The Ministry of Education has announced the selection of four
research programs to receive its Collaborative Research Program Grant (CRPG), who
will each receive up to AED7.5 million over a three-year period to fund their
projects in pursuit of enhanced scientific research in the UAE.
The grant was awarded to four research teams from three
universities – two teams from the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), and
one team each from the Khalifa University of Science and Technology (KU), and
the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD). The winners were chosen according
to the scientific merit of their proposal, its relevance to the national
Science, Technology and Innovation Policy, and their adherence to the criteria
and conditions of the grant program. The selected programs were also selected
for demonstrating their collaborative potential by including researchers from
other educational and industrial institutions, inside and outside of the UAE. The
selected projects relate to food security, alternative energy, health, and
education, respectively.
The grant is provided to advance the innovation axis of the
national Higher Education Strategy and to facilitate competitive and
collaborative research between researchers in the UAE’s accredited educational
institutions. This grant also seeks to support the national goals of developing
a large and high quality research bloc in the disciplines that underlie the Science,
Technology and Innovation Policy, and to double the number of graduate students
from the citizenry.
His Excellency Eng. Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of
Education, commended the four winning research teams, and said: "We are
confident that the funded research projects will contribute to advancing the UAE’s
transition to a knowledge-based economy, accelerating the pace of national
development, and assisting the UAE’s youth in becoming scientists and
entrepreneurs with real-world skills. The Ministry will continue to work to
meet the need for research funding by directing funding towards further high-quality
research of relevance to the country's strategy."
His
Excellency Dr Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State
for Higher Education and Advanced Skills, asserted that the Collaborative Research Program Grant is an important
step towards enhancing scientific research efforts and developing solutions for
the UAE’s challenges. “We hope that such collaborative programs will be the
beginning of a new era of scientific research – one that helps create a
generation of qualified Emirati researchers, in cooperation with our partners
from universities and scientific research institutions across the UAE,” H.E.
added. “We aspire to establish a strong scientific and research base, capable
of boosting the national economy with ideas and unconventional solutions that
expedite overall development and transform the UAE into a global hub for
scientific research, technology, and innovation.” H.E. Al Falasi went on to
note that the Ministry is progressing, led by a clear vision, to achieve the
objectives of the National Strategy for Higher Education and upgrade the higher
education ecosystem to meet the highest global standards. “Scientific research
is key for accomplishing these objectives,” H.E. said.
His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim Al-Mualla, Undersecretary for
Academic Affairs for Higher Education, said: "The Ministry of Education
announced this grant for licensed higher education institutions in September
2019, and invited their researchers to propose new innovative and ambitious
projects in cooperation with leading local and international researchers. When
the grant application window closed in November 2019, the Ministry had received
237 research proposals. Those proposals were then filtered according to preliminary
review and their adherence to the grant criteria and conditions. This resulted
in a shortlist of 36 proposals, which were then subject to review and
evaluation by approved international experts. We were very pleased to see such
a large number of grant applications that included high-quality research. This
great response shows the growing maturity of the UAE’s research community.”
A summary of the winning proposals:
First Proposal:
Led by Dr. Bassam Ali of UAEU, this proposal seeks to bring the new genetics
discipline pharmacogenomics to bear on the UAE healthcare system, to produce
personalized drug treatment modalities and tools to better treat cardiovascular
disease, which is currently the leading cause of death in the country. The research is in
collaboration with KU, Burjeel Hospital - VPS Healthcare, Cleveland Clinic Abu
Dhabi, The Golden Helix Foundation, Tawan Hospital, and Al Ain Hospital
Internal Medicine Medical Institute.
Second Proposal:
Led by Dr. Mohamed Ahmed M. Salim AlHammadi of UAEU, this proposal
seeks to address the gap between mathematics curricula in post-secondary
education and the numerical computing skills required in many technical
professions, by developing a supplementary curricula to be used in conjunction
with regular lectures. The
research is in collaboration with American University in Dubai and the Canadian
University in Dubai.
Third Proposal:
Led by Dr. Youssef Shatilla of KU, this proposal seeks to
investigate the possibility of using Accident Tolerant Fuels (ATFs) at the
Barakah Nuclear Power Plants by studying their impact on the plant’s operation
and safety parameters. ATFs are considered a safer alternative to conventional
nuclear fuel. The
research is in collaboration with Korea Advanced Institute of Science and
Technology, University of Manchester, and the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
Fourth Proposal:
Led by Dr. Ioannis Manikis from UOWD, this proposal seeks to
examine the global drivers of change and assess their impact on the UAE food
system and from this examination produce a number of targeted tools – including
an early warning system, a vulnerability assessment framework, and policies -
to enable the UAE food system to demonstrate ‘resilient dynamism’. The research is in
collaboration with UAEU, the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture,
and the Dubai Municipality Food Safety Authority.
10/02/2020
