Researcher Links programme by the British Council Qatar

British Council Qatar UK Research Networking Programme gives early career researchers across 20 countries the opportunity to form international connections through fully funded workshops and travel grants. Since the launch in 2013, thousands of researchers from across the various countries have benefited from Researcher Links.

In Qatar, new international collaborations, networks and projects have already been formed directly from the first round of workshops. Workshop themes have been selected to align with Qatar’s National Priorities through the four pillars of the Qatar National Research Strategy:

  • Energy and Environment
  • Computer Sciences and ICT
  • Health and Life Sciences
  • Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities

International research collaboration is essential for the global knowledge economy, and it has been shown that internationally mobile researchers tend to be more productive. Furthermore, a shared research interest can help to build trust and relationships between people from very different backgrounds and cultures.

Transforming the Nursing Workforce: Improving Population Health Through Evidence Based Practice

January 19 - 23  2015, Led by Hamad Medical Corporation and the University of Manchester.

The central theme of this workshop is to address the mind body dualism which exists between physical and mental health care. The nursing workforce is a resource to address this and can therefore be better utilized to enhance global health. 

In Qatar there are approximately 12,000 nurses and in the UK 400,000 nurses delivering care to populations of approximately 2 million and 60 million people. 

One of the tasks to meeting the global health challenges is providing acceptable, clinically and cost effective evidence based interventions (e.g. brief psychological treatments for depression) for populations that might benefit. 

The leading causes of disability globally are:

  • cardiovascular related diseases (e.g. hypertension and diabetes)
  • mental illness (e.g. depression and anxiety)
  • Lifestyle factors; poor diet, smoking, work stress. 

Nursing is a considerable, largely untapped, resource that can be better deployed to address this need. 

The workshop focused on developing multidisciplinary programmes of research that seek to harness the potential of nursing to address these health challenges.

Energy and Water Security Workshop

February 15 - 17  2015, Led by Texas A&M (Qatar), QEERI and the University of Bradford.

Meeting the exponentially growing water and energy demands required to improve Quality of Life, securing sustainable energy and water supplies are important challenges for scientists and engineers today. 

This workshop encourages young academic and industrial researchers to present their stimulating research and knowledge transfer ideas in water and energy. Scientists and researchers from the United Kingdom and Qatar participated in several collaborative research projects to

advance research activities in production of clean energy and fuels as well as in sustainable energy and water treatment and conservation projects. 

The workshop highlights accomplishments and discuss possible collaborations in the aforementioned fields.

Smart Grid and Renewable Energy Workshop

 March 22 - 23  2015, Led by Texas A&M (Qatar) and the University of Exeter.

Looking at the importance of the smart grid and renewable energy resources integration in Qatar, this workshop further explores the viability of this technology. 

Leading researchers and stakeholders from international research institutions, universities, and other private sector R&D programs will convene to exchange information on medium to long-term smart grid and renewable energies research agenda, progress, and future challenges.

For more information, visit www.sgre2015.com. 

Cybersecurity Workshop

March 15-17, 2015  Led by The Open University and Qatar University 

Cybersecurity is a growing challenge in Qatar and is an international issue that affects everyone. As Qatar moves towards a knowledge based society, the need for developing human and technological resources in cybersecurity will become increasingly important. The main objective of this workshop is to bring together UK and Qatar based researchers, key government organizations and educators in cybersecurity to identify opportunities for multidisciplinary collaborative research, and for sharing experiences of educating students and the public at large about cybersecurity. 

“A Roadmap of Research in Cybersecurity: An interdisciplinary perspective”

"The first Qatar Researcher Links workshop; Youth, Sports and Health in February 2014, led by Aspire Academy and the University of Exeter. 

40 researchers participated; Aspire, ASPETAR, Qatar University, QNRF, and 12 different UK institutions"