Qatar University’s (QU) Department of International Affairs at the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) and QU’s Gulf Studies Centre (GSC) hosted a conference on ‘Knowledge Economy in Qatar: Trends and Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Research and Policy’.
The two-day event, which concluded yesterday, was attended by several dignitaries, including QU president Dr Hassan al-Derham.
A number of research sessions discussed economic diversification and knowledge-economies, innovation and research development; education and learning; entrepreneurship; and global experiences in knowledge-economies.
CAS dean Prof Ibrahim al-Kaabi, spoke at the conference and stressed the need to move towards a knowledge-based economy in order to get ahead and contribute to sustainable development.
“The CAS strives to achieve this vision through its various programmes and the expansion of its post-graduate offerings and research. The college also brings together local and global experts in conferences such as this one to increase interest in information technology, communication, entrepreneurship, in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of knowledge-economies,” he said.
The chief strategy and development officer Dr Darwish al-Emadi pointed out that the current strategy of QU stems from Qatar National Vision 2030, as economic success depends on the ability to harness knowledge.
“Qatar aims to build an educational system based on innovation. The world improved with the agricultural revolution, followed by the industrial revolution, and the ongoing information revolution from the 1960s, and during which the term knowledge-economy was coined,” he said.
Dr Hatem Mhenni from Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) spoke about supporting scientific research since its inception in Qatar Foundation 14 years ago. Dr Mhenni illustrated how QNRF supports research within the framework of Qatar’s strategy that focuses on scientific research as a means to achieving sustainable development and transitioning towards a knowledge-economy.
The GSC director Dr Mahjoob Zweiri stressed the importance of partnerships in generating ideas that can lead to development and benefit people. He said the centre works to transform ideas from theory to development. Dr Zweiri spoke about the centre obtaining funding for a research grant on the subject of sanctions, which will be a qualitative addition to the work and research the centre conducts for serving the Qatar community.