Objectives

Develop systems capable of supporting and promoting relevant research at Lebanese HEIs. The main activity under this objective is for the Lebanese HEIs in the project consortium to establish or augment their current offices of research support. Each Lebanese partnering HEI has funds within the grant to hire one full time staff to their university. After a series of yearlong trainings provided under the project (hyperlink to trainings information), new staff members will be expected help in the development of research policies and procedures, have the capacity to obtain and manage research funding, administer research awards and grants, and effectively monitor and evaluate sponsored research projects.

Create networks to transfer innovation from academia to industry. This objective aligns closely with the EU Tempus priority for Lebanon that aims for higher education institutions to “develop partnerships with enterprise.” The main activities under this objective are threefold.

• The development of a professional database for researchers and industry to gather information about one another
• A series of networking events will be hosted between academia and industry
• An innovation park will be developed by AUB to assist researchers in commercializing their intellectual property via entrepreneurship.

Establish professional structures between government, academia and industry for the long-term management of RD&I outcomes for Lebanon. At the heart of the sustainability of the project is the formation of a Professional Association of Research Support for Lebanon. This association will be comprised of individuals from academia, industry and government that are dedicated to seeing RD&I thrive in Lebanon. Equally important for the sustainability of the project is the website for research administration, which will host the training courses developed during the IDEAL project within an e-learning platform. Those that complete the e-learning trainings will also be eligible for the CNRS certification.