RIYADH, 30 June 2007 — The King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) will spend SR22 million on 28 research projects in the first phase of its annual scholarship program, and provide funds for a project in the second development research scholarship program.
Details of the allocation of funds were disclosed here by Dr. Abdulrahman Abdulali, supervisor of the research scholarship program, who said that one of the highlights of the program is the allocation of SR324,000 to support projects relating to invention in key sectors such as water, petrochemicals, electronics, genetic engineering and high technology.
The annual scholarship program seeks to encourage scientific research to serve the national development goal by choosing subjects that concern both the Kingdom’s government and the private sector.
Dr. Abdulali said KACST has agreed to support research proposals, which were submitted by male and female researchers from different governmental bodies, universities, colleges and institutions in the Kingdom. All research projects were examined in light of regulatory framework before being approved.
Providing a breakdown of allocations for the research grants, Dr. Abdulali said SR7 million has been earmarked for nine research projects in the field of medicine.
Two of the subjects to be researched include “vaginal cancer and breast cancer,” while another involves a “national study on the cost of medicine in the public and private sectors from an economic perspective.”
In the engineering sector, SR3 million has been set aside to support five research proposals, the most important of which concerns “solving the problem of industrial sewage through the use of seaweed.”
KACST has also budgeted SR4.5 million to fund six research proposals in the field of agriculture. One of these is regarding “the use of Red Sea seaweed as poultry feed.”
A research grant of SR7 million has also been allocated for basic sciences such as chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics and geology. One of the proposals calls for research on the protection of dingoes in Saudi Arabia.
In the field of humanities, KACST will spend SR692,000 on a research project on patients’ rights. The study will take into consideration the point of view of both healthcare providers and beneficiaries. This is in addition to various proposals that seek to improve the quality of health care in the Kingdom, Dr. Abdulali added.
