Manama: The Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF), a constituent of Qatar Foundation Research and Development (QF R&D), has announced the launch of the Postdoctoral Research Award (PDRA), a new funding programme.
Supporting scholars who will work within the research institutes of QF R&D and other Qatar-based research entities, PDRA, is designed to focus on the four major pillars outlined in the Qatar National Research Strategy (QNRS).
The competitive funding programme will provide research institutions with substantial funds to pay salaries and related expenses of successfully nominated scholars.
“PDRA is the second in a series of new programmes to be launched by QNRF this fiscal year and joins a whole host of ongoing funding programmes,” Abdul Sattar Al Taie, Executive Director of QNRF, said. “PDRA will be one of the mechanisms designed to attract outstanding local and international postdoctoral scholars to relocate to Qatar. It will provide them with invaluable work experience that will help them to cement their careers in research which, in turn, will support the demand for researchers at universities and research institutions in Qatar,” he said in remarkes e-mailed to Gulf News.
Abdul Nasser Al Ansari, Deputy Executive Director of QNRF, said that candidates who earned their PhDs within the previous five years as well as graduating PhD students, located inside or outside Qatar, were eligible to apply for the programme on a competitive basis.
“PDRA candidates must be nominated for the award by QNRF-approved local research institutions located inside Qatar,” he said.
Successful candidates will be awarded grants for up to two years, with an extension of one additional year if required.
QNRF-approved research institutions are eligible to nominate their current and prospective postdoctoral scholars for the PDRA, which will have two award cycles per year.
