NEWS
QATAR
Cybersecurity challenges targeted
in collaboration with Turkey
A model designed to drive public–
private sector collaboration will be
the cornerstone of a new programme
developed by Qatar National Research
Fund (QNRF) and Turkey’s leading
research agency, that is set to strengthen
Qatar’s cyber resilience. The programme
will focus on three themes addressing
cybersecurity challenges that Qatar
and Turkey share: cloud and big data
security, security systems for mobile
devices and applications, and critical
infrastructure cybersecurity. It will be
jointly funded by QNRF, part of Qatar
Foundation Research and Development
(QF R&D), and the Scientific and
Technological Research Council of
Turkey (TÜBİTAK).
Academic and research institutes,
industry, the private sector and
government partners, from both nations
will work side-by-side through the joint
funding programme.
The awarded projects will be announced
in March 2018, with those comprising
both a software and hardware element
being funded for three years, and
software-only projects being funded for
two years. The programme has been
developed following a December 2015
agreement between QNRF and TÜBİTAK
to collaborate on projects in areas of
mutual interest, recognising the role of
technological innovation in economic
and social development. Cybersecurity’s
status as an issue of strategic priority
for both countries led to the issue being
targeted and the partnership has scope
for further bilateral cooperation.
Technology to enhance
use of research data
Discoveries and data produced by Qatar’s
research community will be managed in
a more streamlined fashion through a
collaboration between Qatar Foundation
Research and Development (QF R&D)
and Qatar National Library (QNL).
The Research Data Project will
establish a framework for ensuring
the outcomes of projects supported
by Qatar National Research Fund
(QNRF) are stored, preserved, and
communicated effectively.
QNRF and QNL, will work together
to build capacity for research data
management through infrastructure
development, while joint workshops with
the research community will enhance
data management skills.
“The rapid acceleration in the level of
Qatar’s research output in the decade
since QNRF’s establishment has
created the need for frameworks and
processes that ensure the products of
the nation’s vibrant R&D enterprise
have the greatest, and most enduring,
value and impact,” said Dr Abdul Sattar
Al-Taie, Executive Director, QNRF. “It will
bring a cohesive approach to research
data management that helps to ensure
the fruits of Qatar’s R&D efforts are
transparent, focused, accessible, and
capable of benefiting the nation both
now and into the future.” The project
will collate data from past, current and
future projects. An online planning tool
will capture data, and QNL’s digital
repository will be upgraded to support
the curation and reuse of research data.
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