Research Matters

A local excavation mission led by Qatar Museums, including experts from different local and international institutions, has recently discovered the oldest known natural pearl bead in Qatar. This month, we feature an informative discussion with Dr. Ferhan Sakal, Head of Excavation and Site Management in the Archaeology Department at Qatar Museums, who led the project and discovered the pearl to learn more about this discovery, how it came about, and its significance.

Started in 2007 by the World Wild Fund (WWF) as a symbolic lights-out event in Sydney to raise awareness of climate change, Earth Hour is now one of the world's largest grassroots movements about the environment. Held every year on the last Saturday of March, Earth Hour engages supporters in more than 190 countries and territories, all united in ensuring a brighter future for people and the planet.

On the eve of International Women’s Day, we sat down with some of our colleagues at QNRF, to learn more about their experiences as women in the workforce, what motivates and inspires them, and what message they have for other women.

Last year, Qatar National Research Fund completed fifteen years of its operation. During this time, we have stayed true to our mission of enabling research excellence in Qatar across all disciplines and at all levels, and have successfully contributed towards building a world-class research ecosystem that is helping produce innovative solutions for the challenges faced by Qatar, the region, and globally. We are proud of our achievements which would not have been realized without the sheer dedication and hard work of our team and its leadership. Here, I would like to specially acknowledge the role played by Dr. Abdul Sattar Al-Taie, who retired last week, after serving QNRF as the founding executive director since its inception. For the past fifteen years, Dr. Al-Taie has exemplified decisive and consistent leadership to