The National Research Foundation (NRF) has decided to fund four academic research centres specialising in education, the environment, medicine and nanoscience. One centre, the Centre for the Study of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, will be based in Zayed University (ZU) and the other three — the Water and Environment Centre of Excellence, the Genes and Diseases Research Centre and the Emirates Centre for Nanoscience and Nanoengineering — will be set up at UAE University (UAEU).
The NRF was established by Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Chancellor of UAEU and President of ZU. The centres were selected as part of a competition conducted by the NRF in March.
The centres will be granted up to Dh10 million each year for five years, after an annual evaluation of their work. They will start their work next month.
Kenneth Wilson, director of NRF, announced the winners of the competition last week at Zayed University's Knowledge Village campus in the presence of Dr Maitha Al Shamsi, Minister of State.
Importance of initiative
Dr Sulaiman Al Jasem, Vice President of ZU, said this initiative came as a response to the need to participate in helping society, the local community and the world. "The role of higher education is not only to graduate educated students but also to serve the community through research," he said.
The research generated by the centres will ultimately be published and will contribute to solving various problems in the country.
Students, both undergraduate and graduate, will be invited to contribute to research by working with faculty members and research associates on projects.
The focus will be on the UAE but there will be "collateral advantage" for neighbouring countries, said Jeffrey Belnap, associate provost and director of ZU's Abu Dhabi campus.
Bilingual education
The Centre for the Study of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education will aim to strengthen Arabic language proficiency as well as English as a language of communication. "The history and teaching of Arabic is a broad concern in the Arab world so this will be beneficial for countries all over the region," Belnap told Notes.
Water and the environment
Mohsin Al Sharif, who will head the Water and Environment Centre at UAEU, spoke of revisiting policies of water consumption so that they are compatible with the national economy.
The research programme will focus on surface water, groundwater assessment, improvement of desalination plants, waste water treatment, effects of climate change and water-borne health risks. It will help integrate management and decision support systems for the UAE.
Genes and disease research
UAEU's two other upcoming centres will focus on science and medicine. Dr Lihadh Al Gazali, who will head the Genes and Diseases Research Centre, said the centre will focus on the more than 270 diseases that have been reported among the local population. These include diabetes and cancer. The UAE, she said, is ranked sixth out of 193 countries in the prevalence of largely genetic birth defects.
"Genetic diseases are the number four cause of diseases in the Arab world," Gazali said. "The incidence of diabetes is four times higher in the UAE than in Western countries… . There is a need for new diagnosis and treatment."
Nanoscience
The fourth centre, dubbed the Emirates Centre for Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, led by Dr Yousuf Haik, will aim to create revolutionary products in medicine, energy and next generation computer memory storage devices.
"The country has been importing knowledge and it's time to start exporting it. We can generate in-house technology that can be exported to the outside world," Haik said.
NRF director Kenneth Wilson said the foundation is currently reviewing 757 proposals for funding. He told Notes that future projects might extend to political, social and economic disciplines.
The competition
The National Research Foundation invited federal institutions (Zayed University, UAE University and the Higher Colleges of Technology) to submit proposals on potential research ideas. A total of 18 proposals were presented and reviewed by more than 100 international reviewers according to Kenneth Wilson, NRF director.
Four projects were selected and they will be funded for the next five years.
The competition will also be held next year, according to officials from the foundation, so interested bodies within federal institutions have plenty of chances to receive funding.
By Maysam Ali, Notes Staff Reporter