Font Size

Font Increase Normal Font Size Font Decrease

Preferred Colors

Hight Contrast

Translate this page to

The Ministry is not responsible for the translation output by google

Save your preferences
  • العربية
  • Log In
  • Search in website
MOE logo
Log In
العربية
  • Help
  • Contact us
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Important Links
  • Service Catalog
  • Jobs
  • Schools Map
  • Cultural Attaché
  • Academic Calendar
             
  • The Official Website of the Ministry of Education
    • About The Ministry
      • MOE Strategy
      • About the Ministry
      • About the Minister
      • Academic Calendar
      • Quality Education in the UAE
      • UAE National Educational System
      • MOE Responsibilities and Services Booklet
      • Partners
      • Procurement and tenders
      • Six years of achievement preparing for the fiftieth
      • Memorandum of Understanding and International agreements
    • Legislation
      • Laws
    • Media CenterCurrently selected
      • News
      • Photo Gallary
      • Videos Gallery
      • Events
      • Download Center
      • Media Responsibility
      • Archive
      • Ministry Initiatives
    • EServices
      • Service Catalog
      • Education & Technology Sciences Attaché Office
      • UAE Public Higher Education Institutions
      • UAE Private Institutions
      • Whistleblower Form
    • Open Data
      • Open Data
      • Schools Map
      • Report and Statistics
    • Digital Participation
      • Ministry’s Activities related to Digital Participation
      • Social Media Accounts
      • Digital Participations Policy
      • Digital Consultations
      • Blogs
    • Important Links
      • Important Links
      • Curriculum and Assessment
      • National & International Assessments
      • Important Applications
    • Jobs
    • Contact us
Home > The Official Website of the Ministry of Education > Media Center > Archive > MOHESR > News > UAE students and academics welcome research grants
  • NewsCurrently selected
  • Photo Gallary
  • Videos Gallery
  • Events
  • Download Center
  • Media Responsibility
  • Archive
  • Ministry Initiatives

UAE students and academics welcome research grants

 
Page Content
Melanie Swan
Mar 7, 2013 Updated Mar 7, 2013 3.48pm
 
Although the six awards are small – a maximum of Dh50,000 – Dr Mohamed Baniyas, provost of UAE University in Al Ain, believes they will help attract more Emiratis into the field of research.
 
He said the faculty research mobility award, which aims to encourage Emirati academics to travel and promote their research, as well as seeking collaboration with universities overseas, was a vital part of building a research culture.
But he admitted the grants are “only a small portion” of the amount needed to fund continuing research.
“If research cannot continue in the Emirates, it won’t lead to innovation and patents,” he said. “You still have to encourage the bigger steps. This requires bigger budgets and commitments than Dh50,000. There should be some sort of mechanism to support research.”
 
 
Dr Hussam Al Ulama, head of the National Research Foundation (NRF), said funding remained a challenge, even five years on from the foundation’s establishment.
“It’s a matter of time to get support from the federal and local government bodies,” he said.
Dr Al Ulama has met officials from the Ministry of Presidential Affairs to try to persuade them to increase the funding.
“We are trying to spread the message of research and its importance by meeting with many of these government institutions, but some still won’t even meet with us,” he said.
 
Research accounts for just 0.01 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, compared with more than 3 per cent in Finland and Japan and more than 2.5 per cent in Denmark and the US.
Since its inception, the National Research Foundation has spent about Dh5 million a year.
“We wish to increase the budget spent on scientific research,” said Dr Al Ulama.
Ahmad Al Shaikh, a final-year public relations and communications student at the American University of Sharjah, said such competitions would increase the number of young Emiratis interested in doing research.
“There’s no incentive or rewards to do research, so people aren’t going to want to spend the time and make that sacrifice, even if there is a benefit to them,” he said. “This kind of competition is a very good thing and could encourage more Emiratis to undertake research. It’s not easy to get opportunities like this.”
 
Four of the six categories are specifically for Emiratis: the Emirati faculty research mobility award, the young Emirati postgraduate research students mobility award, the young Emirati innovators prize and the young Emirati researchers prize.
The other categories are open to all nationalities: the patent filing award and the university-industry research collaboration award. Entries close on April 30.
 
3/7/2010

Did you find this content helpful? Yes No

Thank You

Your opinion and your feedback is important to us - how can we improve this page to help you better? please add your comments below with a contact method.

12/19/2016 10:54 PM