Participants during the launch of the programme.
Doha, Qatar: Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar (CMU-Q) has announced a new research grant programme to support high-impact, competitive faculty research. Accelerator grants are poised to transform the campus research landscape, providing long-term faculty members the support to expand their scopes of inquiry and scholarly output. CMU-Q is a Qatar Foundation partner university.
The new Accelerator grants mark a major milestone in the university’s internal research ecosystem. Accelerator grants will be the cornerstone of faculty research support, with competitive annual cycles to consider new proposals in any discipline.
“This expanded scope for research provided by Qatar Foundation will have a lasting impact on Qatar,” said Dean of CMU-Q, Michael Trick. “This country has a deep commitment to knowledge and inquiry, with a burgeoning research community. We look forward to contributing more robustly, and doing our part to foster a collaborative, innovative research ecosystem in Qatar.”
The seven inaugural Accelerator grants span a wide range of disciplines, including humanities, physics, software systems, and cancer research. The projects foster both cross-disciplinary collaboration and Education City partnerships, driving high-impact research across CMU-Q.
The Accelerator grant is part of a broader expansion of research support mechanisms across CMU-Q, as the university builds a strong internal funding pipeline. A new Incubator grant will provide smaller awards for faculty to develop early-stage research concepts. The university will also offer start-up funding packages to new faculty members. Associate dean for research, and an associate teaching professor of psychology, Jennifer Bruder led the restructuring of the research programme. She said, “The CMU-Q faculty includes exceptional scholars in a wide variety of disciplines. This new grant programme will give them the resources to explore their research questions in more depth, and to make meaningful contributions to the body of knowledge in their fields, and to the research community in Qatar.”
The expanded scope of research will extend to students. The new Exceptional Undergraduate Researcher Award is for students who demonstrate a remarkable work ethic, curiosity, and engagement during a CMU-Q summer research programme. Students are nominated by their research mentors, and the selected students can continue their work for up to 10 hours per week for one academic year. The award will provide support for research-focused students as they continue their summer work or expand on it.
Carnegie Mellon University focuses on research that delivers real-world impact. At the Qatar campus, this research mission also shapes the undergraduate experience. Students receive dedicated, personalised mentorship that is unparalleled at the undergraduate level, and many go on to careers in academia and research.
