King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) allocated just under SR1.2 million to support 39 research proposals and promote scientific research in the Kingdom during 2014.

“KACST has allocated SR1.17 million to support 39 research proposals submitted and filed by researchers from various universities and colleges in the Kingdom through the grant program for higher education students, which is supervised by the General Directorate for Research Grants (GDRG),” sources said on Saturday.

The GDRG supports research proposals and monitors the completion of research projects, besides determining research priorities, suggesting mechanisms of research support and publishing final results of the projects.

The objective of the program is to support scientific research, as eminence in research is crucial to achieving the university’s goals of becoming a leading educational institution and a model in the region.

“It is also a critical component to the university’s mission of conducting world-class research that benefits the Kingdom, the region and the world at large,” a KACST official said.

According to Mohamed Khaimi, GDRG’s supervisor, SR944,530 has been allocated to support 31 research proposals for the second phase of the project, while the rest has been allocated to support eight research proposals during the third stage.

He added that research proposals cover the basic sciences, medical and the agricultural fields with the aim of promoting productive investigation and creative scholarship.