HBKU, UC Berkeley pursue collaboration in research under new agreement

Doha: The College of Public Policy (CPP) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation (QF), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of California, Berkeley, USA, that establishes a framework for international collaboration in research, education, and training programs between their faculty and students over the next five years.

The agreement, which is sponsored by the College of Public Policy (CPP) at HBKU, represented by Dr. Leslie Pal, founding dean of CPP, and UC Berkeley’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES), represented by Dr. Asad Q. Ahmed, Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Department of Near Eastern Studies and Department of Philosophy and Director, CMES. CMES promotes the interdisciplinary study of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and is widely recognized as one of the country’s most important sources of knowledge about the Arab world.   The MoU encourages collaboration on topics of mutual academic interest between their faculties and research communities, with CPP’s Program for Social Policy Evaluation and Research (PROSPER) and UC Berkeley expected to develop programs and activities that advance scholarships through their cooperative relationship. Among the activities envisaged are joint research projects, conferences, workshops, symposia, seminars, and training programs. The collaboration will also extend to research exchanges between faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars. Knowledge sharing will be encouraged through academic publications and other forms of cooperation.