Oman’s ministry to fund 349 research project valued over OMR 1.9m

Muscat:  The Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation announced today the funding of 349 research proposals with a total value of OMR1,953,272 as part of the research support programme (institutional and competency-based) for the current year.

The targeted funding categories include: PhD researchers, MA and PhD students, students of higher education institutions, as well as research students studying abroad at their own expense.

This support comes with the aim of building local research capacity, providing a stimulating research environment for scientific research and researchers, and building their capabilities at all academic levels. The Ministry has launched many programs, projects and initiatives to support research and innovation activities in the Sultanate of Oman.

This year’s session saw the financing of 349 research projects submitted by 31 academic institutions of higher education and some government agencies, in addition to research proposals submitted by students studying at their own expense.

The number of funded research projects for academic researchers with PhD holders for this year has reached 120 research projects, with an amount of up to OMR 20,000 per research project as a maximum for a period of two years.

In the category of masters holders, 103 research projects were funded with a maximum amount of OMR 3,000 per project, and 126 student research projects received from higher education institutions were funded with a maximum amount of OMR 1500 per research project.

In the category of Omani students studying abroad on their own account, 16 research proposals were funded with an amount of up to OMR 3,000 per project as a maximum, as the amount of funding reached OMR 43,618 Omani riyals in this category.

The research support program (competence-based institutional) was developed to keep pace with the requirements of the stage, and to provide institutions with a wider scope to present competitive research after it has been evaluated and presented as one package.

The research support program (institutional and based on competency) seeks to activate the role of academic and research institutions, granting them greater powers, and giving them an opportunity to develop and manage their own research programs. It also allows them to carry out detailed follow-up of research projects electronically. This program focuses on supporting research that contributes to the implementation of priorities. and achieving applicable practical results.

The research funding program consists of three sub-programs: a program to support the research of academics holding a doctorate, a program to support the research of master’s or bachelor’s holders with at least 3 years of experience, and a program to support the research of students studying at the diploma or bachelor’s levels.

The process of managing the program takes place through researchers registering and submitting all the details of research proposals in the Oman Research Portal (ORP), and the process of evaluating proposals takes place in research institutions.

The Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation supports research institutions, supervises and audits their work, and follows up the outputs of these researches by evaluating many standards of quality, production and efficiency periodically, as the number of scientific publications, the number of patents, cooperation with other institutions, and the contribution of the private sector to find Various funding sources to improve the quality of scientific research in line with global indicators of research and innovation.