Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) has announced the winners of its 24th Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) cycle, a flagship programme co-funded by Qatar Shell, designed to develop research infrastructure in Qatar by establishing the basis of scientific research at undergraduate level. QNRF is a member of Qatar Foundation.
In the 24th cycle, UREP grants were awarded to 54 proposals from student teams across several universities in Qatar, out of the 136 peer reviewed proposals. Of the 54 awards, 37 went to Qatar University, while 15 were awarded to teams at QF partner universities – seven to Texas A&M University at Qatar, three to Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, three to Georgetown University in Qatar, and two to Northwestern University in Qatar. The two remaining awards were awarded to the College of the North Atlantic-Qatar and the University of Calgary-Qatar.
The winning proposals address the various pillars of Qatar National Research Strategy, with 20 awards in Energy and Environment; 18 in Biomedical and Health; nine in Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities; and seven in Computer Sciences and ICT.
QNRF Executive Director Dr Abdul Sattar Al Taie said they are delighted to partner with Qatar Shell as sponsor of UREP, following an agreement signed between QF and Qatar Shell last year to facilitate access to Qatar Shell’s expert knowledge and mentorship as a valuable resource for the undergraduate community in Qatar.
UREP aims to build research capacity locally in the country and to foster a self-sustainable, innovative ecosystem, well-aligned with that of Qatar Shell. I am confident that our partnership and collective efforts will advance those goals and deliver exceptional outcomes to benefit our most promising undergraduate students.’
Launched in 2006, UREP is QNRF’s longest running programme designed to develop the research human capital and research infrastructure in Qatar. To date, over 3,800 undergraduate students have benefited from the UREP grants and produced insightful research while working under the mentorship and guidance of their professors.
Hussain Al Hijji, Vice President of Qatar Shell Research and Technology Centre, said they are proud to support UREP this year.
It is an exemplary programme that has been executed efficiently by QNRF for more than a decade. I am very happy that our partnership with QNRF has further increased interest in the programme as evident by the number of applications received.
We look forward to providing our technical expertise where applicable and sharing our R&D facilities. Qatar Shell is committed to fuelling innovation into Qatar’s energy ecosystem by providing more and clean energy solutions to support the energy transition.’
Applications for the 25th UREP cycle is open until 9 September 2019. Click here to learn more about the programme.
