The Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) Innovation Center has announced the winners of the Industrial Innovation Fund (IIF) and the Student Innovation Fund (SIF) for 2021. Supporting local, collaborative academia and industry-driven innovation proposals by HBKU faculty and scientists, and local students, both funds aim to increase local capacity, responsiveness, and private enterprise. These goals firmly align with the objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030, and HBKU’s own commitment to actively contribute to its achievement.
Dr. Yusuf Bicer, assistant professor, College of Science and Engineering (CSE), has won funding for his project “Green Hydrogen Demonstration for Electric Vehicle Charging Station in Abu Hamour”, with Mr. Carlos Mendez, CSE, Mr. Abdulla Al Wahedi, KAHRAMAA, and Mr. Kanda Daisuke, Marubeni Middle East Power. They will demonstrate a pilot plant producing green hydrogen from solar energy to power an electric vehicle charging station and an integrated battery-hydrogen storage unit for the first time in Qatar.
Dr. Kabir H. Biswas, assistant professor, College of Health & Life Sciences (CHLS), and Dr. Prasanna Kolatkar, senior scientist, Qatar Biomedical Research Institute (QBRI), propose to engineer a versatile biosensor platform for highly sensitive, rapid, and cost-effective detection of virus detection in patient or environmental samples through their project “Biosensors for Viral Nucleic Acid Detection (BioNAD)”.
The collaborative project “Data Analytics for Career Path Recommendations in Soccer”, by Dr. Jens Schneider, assistant professor, CSE, and Adel Saad, CEO, sKora.tech at Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), proposes a data-driven solution that tracks aspiring football players’ development and offers individually tailored opportunities and career pathways.
Mohammed Tahri Sqalli, a PhD candidate at CSE, aims to develop a proactive artificial intelligence and augmented reality-based eye-tracking system that will train cardiology professionals to better interpret electrocardiograms. The “Eye-Tracking System” will contribute toward digitalized approaches to training and preparedness for Medicine 2.0.
Mohammad Zaher Serdar, a PhD student in Sustainable Environment, and Omer Abedl-Rahman Ahmed Abedrabboh, a PhD student in Sustainable Energy at CSE, won for their proposal “Building and Developing a Self-Sufficient Geothermal Central Air Conditioning System for Qatar”. They will develop a system to harness geothermal capacity and employ it as a self-sufficient cooling system, helping to slash loads and ensure sustainable and resilient cooling even during outages.
In keeping with the aims of HBKU Innovation Center, IIF and SIF is an opportunity for HBKU faculty and graduate students to demonstrate how applied research can solve many of the current challenges facing industry in Qatar. The projects have the potential to lead in accelerating the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, not only in Education City, but also in Qatar.
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