As part of its ongoing efforts to enhance research endeavors at Kuwait University, the administrative staff at the Research sector took the initiative to visit the Faculty of Life Sciences, headed by Prof. Othman Homoud Al-Khudir, Acting Vice President for Research, along with his assistants, Prof. Noriah Al-Kandari, Assistant Vice President for Research Analysis and Development, Prof. Abdullah Jawad Sultan, Acting Assistant Vice President for Research Implementation and Financing, and Dr. Haneen Al-Ghabra, Assistant Vice President for External Research Collaboration and Consultation. The delegation was received by Dr. Nawaf Salem Al-Hajeri, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences, along with a group of academic staff members interested in scientific research. The visit took place on Monday, October 30, 2023.

The main objective of the meeting revolves around the concept of building bridges of cooperation and understanding between the Research Sector and the research community at Kuwait University. During the meeting, all services and facilities provided by RS to researchers were presented, and researchers were given the opportunity to ask questions and inquires, and they were answered and addressed by the Research Sector delegation.

The meeting was initiated by Prof. Othman Al-Khudir, who welcomed the attendees from the academic staff at the Faculty of Life Sciences and thanked them for their hospitality. He then explained that the administrative staff at the Research Sector took upon itself the responsibility of meeting with researchers from the various faculties of Kuwait University face to face in order to discuss the problems and obstacles they face in completing scientific research and finding suitable solutions, as well as answering their inquiries. Prof. Al-Khuder also added that the objective sought by the Research Sector is to raise the level on interest of the University's various faculties in achieving distinguished research projects with scientific outcomes which contribute to enhancing the research activity of researchers, and thus raising the status of Kuwait University and realizing Kuwait's vision 2035 by providing research of scientific values which benefit the society.

In turn, Prof. Noriah Al-Kandari, Assistant Vice President for Research Analysis and Development, addressed researcher's valuable inquires regarding aspects related to progress and final reports, procedures for publishing scientific papers resulting from funded and unfunded research projects, and other related inquires. Prof. Al-Kandari also encouraged new members of the academic staff to apply for the Research Initiation Grant as she explained that the deadline for submission has almost expired, and the application for the grant has commenced on the first of October, continuing till the end of the current month. She also announced that the Research Sector has already begun accepting applications for nominations for scientific research awards in the categories of Best Young Researcher and Distinguished Researcher for the academic year 2023/2024, as the application period was from 1/10/2023 till 31/10/2023. As for Research Excellence for Postgraduate Students, application for it is done through the electronic registration link, from 15/10/2023 till 13/11/2023.

For his part, Prof. Abdullah Jawad Sultan, Acting Assistant Vice President for Research Implementation and Financing, responded to researcher's inquiries regarding the temporary labor on research projects and the process of purchasing equipment used in scientific research projects. He also addressed the aspects of disbursement and ongoing expenses.

For her part, Dr. Haneen Al-Ghabra, Assistant Vice President for External Research Collaboration and consultation, responded to researcher's inquiries regarding the conditions for participation in the Scientific Poster event and the foundation which upon the Scientific Posters Evaluation Committee bases its evaluation. She explained that the sector is in the process of organizing the Third Scientific Research Conference under the title "Kuwait Vision 2035: Technology, Creativity, Innovation" with the participation of members of the academic body, the supporting academic body, postgraduate students and teaching assistants completing their studies, as well as researchers from local research institutions which are under cooperation agreements with Kuwait University, and they are: The Kuwait foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), the Kuwait Institution for Scientific Research (KISR), Kuwait National Guard, Kuwait Oil Company (KOC), and the Environment Public Authority. The conference in scheduled to be held on 19-20 February 2024. Accordingly, Dr. Al-Ghabra encouraged researchers from the Faculty of Life Sciences who wish to participate in the event to register as soon as possible through the electronic registration links, as the last day for receiving scientific posters is 30/11/2023.