Objective
One of QRLP tracks dedicated to build human capabilities in research field is the Postdoctoral Research Award (PDRA).
This award aims to attract the best national and homegrown recent Ph.D. graduates and young researchers to encourage independence at an early stage of a research career. The QRLP-PDRA track aims to select candidates with the highest potential and offer them highly competitive fellowship awards, benefits, research environment, and mentoring to ensure that they can achieve their highest potential.
Specifically the awards offered through QRLP-PDRA will:
- Provide skilled, cost-competitive and readily trainable limited-term staff to carry forward Qatar’s research agenda.
- Provide academic and research institutions within Qatar with new ideas to perform research and build human research capacity in Qatar.
- Provide an opportunity to evaluate early-career scientists who have the potential to become new hires as career scientists in Qatar.
- Train research ambassadors within the next generation of scientists and educate them about future collaboration opportunities with Qatar’s research entities, with a special emphasis on fulfilling the Qatar National Research Strategy.
- Promote Research Mentors to proactively search for postdoctoral scholars that meet their institutional research needs.
- Attract outstanding national & residents as postdoctoral scholars.
Program Description
QRLP–PDRA supports postdoctoral scholars to work within Qatar-based research groups located in areas of national priority as outlined in the Qatar National Research Strategy (QNRS).
Up to two years of financial support will be granted to the submitting institution to support a postdoctoral scholar, with the potential to extend for one year with no additional financial support. QNRF provides the submitting institution with funds to pay for the postdoctoral scholar’s salary, travel, and other personal as described in section 12 of the PDRA RFP
Eligibility
- PDRA supports Qatari nationals, non-Qatari children of Qatari mothers, Qatari document holders, individuals married to Qatari nationals, non-Qataris born in Qatar who have been residents for five years or more, residents of Qatar for five years or more with valid residencies, and QRLP graduates (old model).
- Must hold PhD degree or expected to receive their degree by August 2021.
- Must have earned their PhD degree no more than three years prior to the proposal submission deadline.
- Medical doctors (MDs) with two publications can apply
Research Area
The candidate is required to propose comprehensive plans for their research project, taking into account the research thematic areas implemented in the National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) and other QNRF programs. The research plan must be related to an active QNRF grant.
For more details about the eligibility criteria, please read the RFP document available in the download center.
Responsiveness to Challenges
Postdoctoral Research Award will:
- Recognize early-career investigators of significant potential.
- Offer the postdoctoral candidates fellowship opportunities to demonstrate their potential as new or permanent hires in Qatar or elsewhere.
- Offer the candidates work experience with best-in-class scientists, including the postdoctoral scholar’s Research Mentor, and, provide them with access to state-of-the-art research equipment.
- Contribute socially and scientifically to Qatar’s research mission with the potential for worldwide impact.
- Provide networking opportunities and potential support for future employment.
Potential Benefits
While the primary benefit of this activity is to build human
capital, its secondary aim is to support postdoctoral scholars to work within
Qatar-based research groups in areas of national priority as outlined in the
Qatar National Research Strategy (QNRS). Relevant areas may include (but are
not limited to) basic and applied research areas in all fields of natural
sciences, engineering and technology, medical and health sciences, agricultural
sciences, social sciences and humanities.