VCUarts Qatar recently launched the VCUarts Qatar Institute for Creative Research and became home to the country’s, and one of the region’s, first university-level institutes dedicated to advancing creative research.
Her Excellency Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice-Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation (QF), and Dr. Sriram Rao, Vice President for Research and Innovation, VCU, Richmond attended the event.
Also, in attendance were Francisco Marmolejo, President of Higher Education at Qatar Foundation; Dr. Hisham Sabir, Executive Director (Interim), Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF); Riham Daher, Director of Programs Administration, QNRF; Lisa Ballance, Associate Vice President for Strategy and Regulatory Affairs, VCU, Richmond; Amir Berbić, Dean, VCUarts Qatar; and other senior leadership, chairs and faculty from VCUarts Qatar’s research, academic and administrative departments. Dr. Sriram Rao, made the official announcement of the Institute.
The Institute’s governing operations will be led by Dr. Diane Derr, Associate Dean for Research and Development. The Institute is made up of faculty-led Research Labs. Together, these Labs at VCUarts Qatar explore areas as diverse as nanotechnology, product design and development, data processing, computation, and sound design, to transformative pedagogy, cultural preservation, and Arabic typography. Each Lab supports in-depth investigations by teams of faculty, students, and alumni, and enhances community engagement and impact. The Labs provide students with hands-on experiential learning, and recent alumni with valuable professional development.