More than 11% jump in number of National Research Award applicants in Oman

Muscat: 243 people have applied for the 2021 National Research Award, 11.4 per cent more than last time. Registrations for the eighth cycle of the NRA ended on Thursday, August 19, said the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MoHERI).

“The NRA is divided into two categories. Best published research, led by a PhD Holder or Equivalent (senior specialist or higher in the medical field) and best published research led by a Young Researcher (a non-PhD holder),” said a ministry statement.

“Out of the 243 applications submitted for the NRA, 143 applications were in the PhD Holder or Equivalent category, while 100 were in Young Researcher category.

“The research applications were submitted in accordance with the six research fields of the award in both the PhD and Young Researcher categories, with 48 applications in the field of Education and Human Resources, 21 in Information and Communication Technologies, 60 in Health and Social Services, 42 in Cultural, Social, and Basic Sciences, 22 in Energy and Industry, and 50 in the field of Environmental and Biological Resources.

The winners will be announced at the upcoming Annual Research Forum. Applicants must be the first author whose name appears in the research article being entered for the competition, and must ensure the research submitted is of relevance to Oman. The published research must not have won any other award nationally or internationally, and must have been published after March 15, 2018, in a refereed journal.

The award is limited only to original research studies and articles. Publications such as review papers, conference proceedings, historical articles, book chapters or medical case reports are not accepted.
Only one application per cycle is allowed. If an applicant submits more than one application, then all of them will be excluded. Applicants must also provide written consent from each team member to prove his or her approval to participate in the competition.

Only complete applications for the award, submitted electronically on the award website, and supplemented with all the required documents as attachments, will be considered for evaluation. The award winners must provide any additional information requested, and shall be willing to attend and present their research at the Annual Research Forum.