DOHA: International speakers from different fields will share their perspectives on how to ensure that a research and development ecosystem can generate impact, strengthen economies and societies and improve lives, at the Qatar Foundation Annual Research Conference 2018 (ARC’18), which begins tomorrow.
The seventh edition of the conference, organised by Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D), will take place at Qatar National Convention Centre under the theme ‘R&D: Focusing On Priorities, Delivering Impact.’
The two-day event will bring together local and international audience supporting Qatar in developing world-class research and innovation that addresses national priorities and entering the global marketplace.
ARC’18 sessions will reflect the four thematic pillars defined in the Qatar National Research Strategy (QNRS) - Energy and Environment; Computing and Information Technology; Health and Biomedical; and Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities – with the conference being built around three tracks that will each focus on key topics for Qatar’s R&D ecosystem: the Researchers Track, the Innovation Track, and the Research Strategy Track.
On day one of ARC’18, Vivek Kundra (pictured), former Chief Information Officer of the United States, will deliver the keynote address, ‘Leading Change and the Challenges of Transformation,’ at the opening plenary session of the conference.
Panelists will also include H E Dr Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry; Professor Hasan Mandal, President, Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK); David Roberts, Distinguished Faculty, Singularity University, and Dr Hamad Al Ibrahim, Executive Vice-President, QF R&D.
Their discussion will be moderated by Deborah Wince-Smith, President and CEO, Council on Competitiveness (CoC), a US-based non-profit organization that brings together business, industry, academic, and research leaders to shape economic policy.
Other speakers are Professor Low Teck Seng, CEO, National Research Foundation, Singapore; Professor Mariam Al Maadeed, Vice-President for Research and Graduate Studies, Qatar University; Dr Orkun Hasekioğlu, TÜBİTAK and Datuk Dr Mohd Yusoff Sulaiman, President and CEO, Malaysian Industry-Government Group for High Technology.
