RS Organizes an Orientation Workshop for New Kuwaiti Faculty Members
As part of the annual events held by the Research Sector, RS organized an orientation session for new Kuwaiti faculty members on Monday 14th of October, 2019, in conference hall (119) at Khaldiya Campus. The event was held with the attendance of Prof. Jasem Al-Kandari, Vice President for Research, and his assistants Prof. Yousuf Garashi, Prof. Haider Behbehani, and Prof. Laila Marouf, in addition to department heads at RS, and a group of new Kuwaiti faculty members who recently joined the various faculties at Kuwait University as Assistant Professors.
The session was initiated by Prof. Al-Kandari who welcomed the new faculty members, wishing them success in their new scientific and academic journeys as active participants in Kuwait University scientific and research endeavors.
Throughout the orientation session, the newly joined faculty members from various scientific fields interacted with the heads of departments and employees at RS. Several inquiries were made regarding scientific research support, which falls under the jurisdiction of RS, as well as the facilities available for the implementation of research projects under research grants categories provided for researchers by RS, particularly the Research Initiation Grant (RIG) which is dedicated to the new Kuwaiti faculty members did not complete two years since appointment in various colleges and departments at the Assistant Professor level. The process of research implementation and the procedures of their funding were explained, as well as the steps followed to purchase scientific equipments and hire manpower. The terms and conditions of scientific missions were also presented, as well as the electronic services provided by RS. Faculty members were also introduced to the activities of research Analysis, Refereeing and Development at the Research Sector, as well as research funding and implementation, in addition to the services provided by the Office of External Research Collaboration and Consultation presented by the Research Services unit, and Patents Office whose responsible of connecting scientific research with the private sector in order to invest in and benefit from scientific research outcomes, as well as transferring technology and working to secure intellectual property rights.
During the session, Prof. Haider Behbehani, Assistant Vice President for Research Analysis and Development, explained the importance of this annual meeting held by RS for new Kuwaiti faculty members, for it is considered an integral part of the sector’s endeavor to contain the emerging scientific and research capabilities, and support innovative ideas that provide new horizons for new researchers to enhance their academic and scientific careers. RIG Workshop is considered a starting point for new faculty members in the field of scientific research, which falls under the umbrella of funded research system provided by RS for all scientific disciplines without discrimination, where RS is aiming at attracting research ideas of high scientific value addressing the priorities of Kuwaiti society of direct impact on the fields of industry and economy, as well as the fields of medicine and technology and many more.
Prof. Behbehani also added that RIG comes within nine categories of research grants which RS provides for faculty members to achieve scientific research. This category was introduced in 2003, and since then, 396 Research Initiation Grants have been approved for new Kuwaiti faculty members as Assistant Professors, which include 283 completed projects, and 31 ongoing projects. A total of 180 researchers who completed their RIG projects have applied for projects as PI’s, while 33 researchers joined other projects as COI’s. Prof. Behbehani also encouraged new researchers to visit the new RS website to view all information that will facilitate fulfilling the requirements related to the completion of their scientific research projects.
At the end, the executives at RS wished all participants success in their academic and scientific journey at Kuwait University, and continuous success in their endeavors to serve their country and raise its name based on the excellence of their scientific research.