In a bid to further cement ties between Qatar and the US, Qatar Foundation(QF) and Hamad Bin Khalifa University(HBKU) have sealed a trio of agreements with American institutions.

This includes the country’s space agency that spans educational connections, water, and climate change research, sport, and heritage preservation. 

Earlier, the third US Qatar Strategic Dialogue took place in Washington D.C. this week, building on the established bilateral relationship between the two countries and opening up opportunities to embark on new collaborations.

This includes a partnership between Qatar Foundation (QF), Qatar Museums (QM), and the Smithsonian Institute, as well as the announcement of a Mission Concept Formulation Study between HBKU and NASA to analyze the impact of rising sea levels and their effect on Qatar, and how changing climates affect the world’s arid regions.

Meanwhile, a further agreement will see two members of the Fulbright Scholars Program in the US spend a semester in Qatar to conduct research at HBKU’s research institutes.

Dr. Ahmad M. Hasnah, President of HBKU, who represented QF at the US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue, signing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Smithsonian Institution and announcing the NASA partnership said, “For Qatar Foundation, partnerships and connections with the U.S. are long-established, and immeasurably valued.”

“From the leading U.S. universities who partner with Qatar Foundation and have branch campuses within our Education City development in Doha, to the myriad research collaborations between our scientists and their U.S. counterparts, these partnerships truly demonstrate how knowledge transcends borders.''

By partnering with the Smithsonian Institution, QF and the US organization will combine to building knowledge and skills, and share experiences, in innovation and STEM education at K-12 level; promote connections between sport and science through public engagement activities ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™; and work together to preserve heritage documents, explore opportunities to co-develop and deliver digital education, and look at forming sustainability-focused research collaborations.

USA and Qatar signed MOU on education, culture, and sports in addition to signing a Statement of Intent (SOI) designating 2021 as the US-Qatar Year of Culture and an Announcement of Intent for Qatar to host an investment forum in the United States in 2021. #QNA

— Qatar News Agency (@QNAEnglish) September 16, 2020

The MoU will also see QM and the Smithsonian Institute explore collaborations to mark the Qatar-US Year of Culture 2021, and share knowledge in areas including cultural innovation, digital literacy, digitizing museum collections.

Ahmad Musa Al-Namla, Chief Executive Officer, Qatar Museums said, "Qatar Museums' partnership with the Smithsonian - a global and esteemed cultural institution - paves the way for Qatar and the United States to further strengthen their ties and collaborate in the fields of arts and culture.

“The collaboration will create exceptional opportunities for knowledge transfer and exchange between both nations as Qatar Museums works to promote Qatar's national heritage beyond its borders and nurture a thriving cultural landscape for an engaged society.”

Through the collaboration between QF and NASA, researchers from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Earth Science Program and Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute at HBKU will work together on a project to design a mission to probe beneath the sand dunes and ice sheets of some of the planet’s driest places.

The project reflects the need for greater understanding of aquifer systems to support Qatar’s water security goals, and will also provide new knowledge about the effects of rising water levels due to melting polar ice caps.

During their semester at QF in 2021, the two Fulbright scholars will work on research projects and teach at HBKU, with their areas of expertise being Alzheimer’s disease treatments and hydrology, and the application of Artificial Intelligence in civil and environmental engineering.

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Source and Cover Image Credit: Qatar Foundation