KUWAIT: As part of Kuwait University’s ongoing efforts to enhance its research processes, the administrative staff in the research sector initiated a visit to the College of Life Sciences. They were warmly welcomed by Dr Nawaf Al-Hajeri, the Acting Dean of the College of Life Sciences, and a group of academic staff members with a keen interest in scientific research. This visit took place on Monday.

The primary goal of this meeting was to foster cooperation and understanding between the research sector and the research community at Kuwait University. During the meeting, the research sector presented an overview of the services and facilities available to researchers. They also provided an opportunity for researchers to ask questions and receive responses from the research sector’s staff.

Dr Othman Al-Khodr opened the meeting. “The administrative staff within the research sector have taken the responsibility of meeting with researchers from the various faculties of Kuwait University to discuss the challenges and obstacles they encounter in their scientific research endeavors. We aim to find solutions to these issues and address all their inquiries,” he said.

He emphasized that the research sector’s objective is to stimulate increased demand from university colleges to undertake distinguished research projects that yield valuable scientific results. This, in turn, contributes to enhancing the research activity of researchers and aligns with the vision of Kuwait for 2035 by providing research of significant scientific interest to society.

Dr Nouria Al-Kandari, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research Analysis and Development, responded to researchers’ questions regarding interim and final reports, procedures for publishing scientific papers resulting from funded and unfunded research projects, and other related inquiries. She also encouraged new academic staff members to apply for preliminary research advances, noting that the submission deadline is approaching and the application period is open from October 1 till the end of this month.

Furthermore, Dr Kandari announced that the research sector has begun accepting nomination applications for scientific research awards, including categories for the best young researcher and distinguished researcher for the academic year 2023/2024.

Dr Haneen Al-Ghabra, Assistant Vice Chancellor for External Research Cooperation and Consultation, addressed researchers’ questions about the conditions for participating in the scientific poster event and the criteria for evaluating scientific posters. She explained that the sector is currently organizing the third conference for scientific research with the theme “Kuwait Vision 2035: Technology, Creativity and Innovation.”

The conference is scheduled to take place from Feb 19 to 20, 2024, and will involve the participation of academic and supporting staff members from all faculties of Kuwait University, graduate students, teaching assistants and researchers from local research institutions with cooperation agreements with Kuwait University. These institutions include the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), General Presidency of the National Guard, Kuwait Oil Company and the Environment Public Authority.

Dr Ghabra encouraged researchers from the College of Life Sciences who wish to participate in the event to promptly register and submit their contributions using the provided electronic registration links. The final day for receiving scientific posters is Nov 30, 2023.