Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) and Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI), a national research institute under Hamad Bin Khalifa University will collaborate on producing and disseminating theoretical and practical knowledge of media, communication and technology, through research and intellectual exchange.
Both institutions will gain research capacity through the new agreement by complementing each others expertise. The agreement aims to reach larger audience for their work and create possibilities for intellectual knowledge-transfer and work experience opportunities.
“Workshops, research collaborations, events, professional development activities, internships and employment opportunities for students are all part of this new agreement with QCRI. Through research, we are nurturing the idea that knowledge is precious by creating, rather than simply processing and applying it,” said Everette E Dennis, dean and CEO of NU-Q.
QCRI’s executive director, Dr Ahmed Elmagarmid, echoed similar sentiments saying, “We are honoured to have the opportunity to join forces with Northwestern University-Qatar to address important research problems affecting Qatar and the region. Strengthening ties between QCRI’s computer scientists and the University’s communication and journalism scholars will lend support to our tackling these issues in the most impactful way possible.”
The research at NU-Q complements the established scholarly studies across three major programmes: journalism, communication and liberal arts. The school has three key strands of research, including an institutional research programme, a wide range of scholarly studies by individual faculty members, and a systematic approach to making research more useful and attractive for Qatar’s students.
QCRI is focused on tackling large-scale computing challenges that address national priorities for growth and development. The Institute’s cutting-edge research is done in the areas of Arabic Language Technologies, Data Analytics, Distributed Systems, Cyber Security, Computational Science and Engineering, and Social Computing.
QCRI’s Social Computing group concentrates a portion of its research in the area of digital media and will play an important role in the new MoU with NU-Q.
The research works in sync with Qatar’s National Research Strategy’s vision of becoming a leading centre for research and development excellence and innovation.
QCRI and NU-Q officials at the signing ceremony