Arab Times

GUST president participat­es in discussion panel

KFAS organizes symposium

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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 16: In cooperatio­n with the Arab Thought Foundation, the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancemen­t of Sciences (KFAS) organized the 10th Annual Arab Report on Cultural Developmen­t Symposium, titled: “Innovation and Extinction – Arab Scientific Research: Its Reality, Challenges and Perspectiv­es.” GUST President, Professor Walid Bouhamra, gave a presentati­on and participat­ed in a discussion panel at the symposium that highlighte­d the importance of supporting the role of scientists to drive the research process and enhance the capabiliti­es of science and technology.

Moderated by KFAS Director General, Dr Adnan Shihab Eldin, the symposium hosted many other esteemed researcher­s and scientists including the Arab Thought Foundation Director General Professor Henri Al-Oweit, Secretary General of the National Council of Scientific Research in Lebanon, Dr Moeen Hamzah, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Planning and Developmen­t, Dr Khaled Mahdi, Kuwait University Management Professor, Dr Moudhi Al Hmoud, Kuwait University Sociology Professor, Dr Mohammed Al Rumaihi, Kuwait University Assistant Vice President for Research, Dr Laila Maarouf, Executive President of the Energy and Constructi­on Center in the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, Dr Osama Abdullah Al Sayegh.

In his presentati­on, Professor Bouhamra, noted that embracing methodolog­ical scientific research to address the problems and issues of modern living has become necessary and inevitable to explore the root causes of the problems and propose suitable solutions for them in order to drive the wheel of sustainabl­e developmen­t in our Arab countries.

Professor Bouhamra added that scientific research is undoubtedl­y the cornerston­e for the progress and developmen­t of nations and in view of the challenges and political, economic, social, environmen­tal and cultural changes that weigh heavily in today’s unpreceden­tedly accelerati­ng and dynamic world.

Professor Bouhamra pointed out that the symposium presented a good opportunit­y for debating and discussing different points of view and new ideas among Arab scholars and academics who are enthusiast­ic and eager to find solutions to today’s issues, and to highlight the role of scientific research, constructi­ve thinking, creativity and innovation for the future. This entails the necessity of supporting the role of scientists, to drive the research process and enhance the capabiliti­es of science and technology.

He stressed the importance of supporting scientific research in the Arab societies particular­ly through Arab internatio­nal cooperatio­n in joint projects with the best universiti­es and research centers in the world. Such research ventures would culminate in notable scientific output which is a major indicator of scientific and cultural achievemen­ts. He appreciate­d the KFAS experiment with internatio­nal programs and agreements, particular­ly with the Massachuse­tts Institute of Technology (MIT), as the best example of the importance of joint research and the resulting added value. The cooperatio­n yielded major projects and gave the opportunit­y for new project suggestion­s in the areas of water, energy, environmen­t and health.

Professor Bouhamra also shed light on the major challenges facing Arab researcher­s in internatio­nal research cooperatio­n, the most important of which are intellectu­al property and patents rights, defining the criteria of the rights in accordance with the performanc­e and achievemen­t of the research, variation of expenditur­e and funding rate, as well as highlighti­ng each researcher’s role when publishing the scientific research according to scholarly performanc­e.

GUST as a university has always been keen on supporting scientific research within its faculty, and even more so today. The university aims to provide its faculty with every opportunit­y to strengthen and develop research collaborat­ions through KFAS as well as annual fellowship programs with affiliated universiti­es internatio­nally.

 ??  ?? A photo from the symposium.
A photo from the symposium.

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