QU gets £400,000 UK research grant in renewable energy

Qatar University (QU) has been awarded jointly with the University of Newcastle a £400,000 research grant in the area of renewable energy, it was announced yesterday.This is one of the eight cutting edge projects across the six Gulf countries with £2.8mn in UK government funding allocated for research in areas ranging from nanotechnology to cyber-security. “The UK is a word-leader on science and innovation and wants to see its collaboration with Qatar in this important area grow,” British ambassador Ajay Sharma said yesterday in a statement in Doha. The UK-Qatar research project seeks to better understand the combustion processes for biogases. This renewable energy source obtained from landfill, animal and human bio-waste processes offers a potential fuel for electricity generation and the automotive industry.  The partnership has identified opportunities in Qatar due to the presence of existing oil and gas companies and will pair Gulf experimental expertise with UK supercomputer modelling.   The funding will strengthen scientific ties between the UK and the Gulf region in order to find solutions to shared global challenges, according to the British embassy.The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy - in partnership with the British Council - had launched an open call for joint research applications in the six GCC countries in July 2016. A total of 172 applications were submitted by the institutions and research bodies in the region. The themes of the call closely tied into Gulf countries’ priorities such as food and nutrition, water, energy, food-water-energy nexus and cyber security. The applications underwent peer-review by leading international academics. While two applications each were awarded in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the other Gulf countries got one each. Each recipient will be granted up to £400,000 for the two-year projects. The UK and Gulf-based scientists and researchers will work together to ensure these collaborations achieve maximum impact for the UK and the GCC countries and establish long-term partnerships in key research areas.The Gulf, Science, Innovation and Knowledge Economy programme has already seen over 226 scientists across the Gulf participate in research symposiums and capacity building workshops in the last 12 months. It will continue to pave the way for long-term research collaboration over the next three years, through workshops, symposiums and talks which will bring together UK and Gulf researchers, research institutions, funding agencies, industry, higher education councils, and education ministries.