Under the theme “Promising Researchers for Qatar,” Minister of Education and Higher Education Buthaina bint Ali al-Jabr al-Nuaimi opened the National Science Research and Innovation Week on Monday.
Omar Mohamed al-Ansari, the president of Qatar University, along with a number of high-ranking ministry officials are present for the week, which is being organised in association with the Qatar Research Development and Innovation Council (QRDI).
A fun corner for elementary school students, presentations by scientific research partners, the 15th National Student Research Exhibition, the final rounds of the Academic FameLab competition, corresponding training workshops, and a closing ceremony honouring the top three winners in all categories and educational stages of the Scientific Research and Innovation competition for 2023 will all be included in this event, which runs through November 23.
The goal of this week, according to Dr. Hisham Sabre, Executive Director of the QRDI’s National Research Fund Programs’ is to support and nurture the research and innovation skills of Qatari students, regardless of gender, with the hope that they will grow up to be scientists and inventors who will shape the future of Qatar.
He pointed out that these initiatives are a part of Qatar’s growing interest in scientific research at all educational levels, as well as in fostering an innovative and research-loving culture in young people.
According to him, the 712 schools that initially entered this week’s Scientific Research and Innovation competition were reduced to roughly 160 schools in order to determine the winners. At the conclusion of the events on Thursday, they will be honoured.
He mentioned that two teams will be chosen to represent Qatar at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in the US and the International Invention, Innovation, and Technology Exhibition (ITEX) in Malaysia.
Dr. Asmaa al-Mohannadi, head of the department of research, talent, and innovation, commended the students’ accomplishments in putting together these research projects.
About 244 projects, she said, are in various scientific and humanitarian fields; 160 are for middle and high school students and 84 are for elementary school students. They’ll all take part in the championship rounds.
The top three winners in eight categories across all educational stages of the Scientific Research and Innovation competition for 2023, according to her, will be honoured at the conclusion of the events. Research projects and other weekly activities, according to Dr. Abdullah al-Kamali, Director of Educational Programmes at the Qatar National Research Fund, are intended to foster and strengthen a culture of scientific inquiry and creativity among students in Qatar.
The director of QRDI’s RDI programme, Riham Daher, stated that this national week will assist, encourage, and support students in these areas while recognising the ministry and council’s current partnership in this regard.
Teachers, experts, and specialists stress that planning National Science Research and Innovation Week events will help to promote a scientific inquiry culture in classrooms. Developing, facilitating, and training students in scientific research skills from an early age is a top priority for the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.
This is in line with Qatar’s National Vision 2030, which encourages students to conduct systematic scientific research, solve pertinent problems creatively, and analyse them in novel ways. It also supports the integration of curriculum standards and scientific research.
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