It offered research grants and carried out studies and techniques to monitor it
The country's universities are facing the Corona pandemic with scientific research and innovation
The challenges of the Corona crisis prompted the research community to work on research projects. ■ from the source
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Higher education institutions in the country play an active and vital role in shaping the future and achieving prosperity in society, by conducting high-quality research, using advanced technology and techniques, as well as working on preparing research that contributes to finding innovative and sustainable solutions to the challenges facing the country, the region and the world. Efforts strongly, during the "Corona" pandemic.
In detail, in response to the challenges imposed by the crisis of the outbreak of the new Corona virus (Covid-19) on the world, the community of researchers and faculty members from various disciplines, in the country's universities, are working on a number of research projects that aim to study the pandemic and its effects on society from several aspects, It included tracking the spread of the virus in populated areas, the way it was transmitted from animals to humans, human behavior during the pandemic, learning, education and remote work during the Coronavirus crisis, and other research and studies that help health authorities and decision-makers in making decisions and besieging the disease.
Khalifa University of Science and Technology initiated the establishment of a research and development task force, specialized in the Coronavirus, within the framework of inviting the industrial, governmental and academic sectors to mobilize efforts to manage and limit the spread of the virus, and to invent modern technologies and solutions that enhance the world's ability to deal with epidemics in the future.
The university launched 14 research projects, five of which focused on epidemiology, six on diagnosis and medical devices, and three on digital tools to understand the disease and mitigate its effects, and contribute to limiting its spread.
The university developed six projects as focused programs, each led by two experts from among the members of the academic staff, while eight projects were launched as part of an open call for proposals at the university.
The research projects were selected on the basis of technical merit, innovation and ability to achieve results, within six months, and alignment with the needs of science and technology in finding solutions to the "Covid-19" virus. And Senior Vice President for Research and Development at Khalifa University, Dr. Steve Griffith, said that The university has focused its efforts on the way it deals with the epidemic, and ensures that its resources are used effectively, to find engineering and scientific solutions that will enhance efforts aimed at controlling the outbreak of the virus, indicating the establishment of research capabilities in the field of health care, by launching two research centers in health care "Innovation Center in Health Care Engineering" and "Center for Biotechnology", in addition to the establishment of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, to provide advanced scientific expertise in biomedical technologies, genomics, bioinformatics and functional biology, in addition to the university's pursuit through the Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Smart Systems To exploring effective and most efficient methods of collecting data related to Coronavirus and analyzing it with artificial intelligence and modeling to achieve effective insights.
Researchers at the Innovation Center in Health Care Engineering have succeeded in developing a prototype of an emergency ventilator device, designed with affordable materials and available to all, using 3D printing technology, with the aim of meeting the increasing global demand for artificial respirators due to the epidemic, and a research team The university has developed an open-source epidemiological model that contributes to strengthening the role of decision-makers in visualizing the impact of precautionary measures, such as global social isolation and voluntary social isolation, which is limited to isolating the elderly, while another research team is working on developing a mobile application, with the aim of collecting data Of smart phone users infected with the Coronavirus, to find out whether their health condition is critical or not.
Sewage
A group of researchers from the Center for Biotechnology and the Center for Membranes and Advanced Water Technology, in cooperation with the concerned authorities, worked on a project aimed at monitoring the viral presence in wastewater, as a means for early detection and tracking of the emerging corona virus in all individuals, by developing a model capable of assessing the ratios The spread of the virus in residential areas and complexes, by examining what people excrete in sewage water.
The transition from animal to human
Khalifa University is leading a team of international researchers, consisting of 10 members from international universities, with the aim of researching how the emerging corona virus is transmitted from animals, such as bats, to humans, and the initiative includes a team of skilled people in various disciplines from all over the world. Experts will collect samples for the study, as the process of understanding the receptor properties of different animals provides enough information about how the virus is transmitted.
Sentiment analysis
Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Khalifa University, Dr. Amna Muhammad Al-Shehhi, has developed a new online tool capable of analyzing the content of the data circulating in the “Twitter” application, which concerns everything related to the emerging corona virus (Covid-19) in the UAE, and that With the aim of providing a broader understanding of what is being discussed in topics related to the virus, including feelings towards it, the results of the new tool, called "Multilingual Signal Analysis of Coronavirus (Covid-19) Tweets in the UAE," showed the survival of feelings among all individuals The country is in a positive, stable condition, given their confidence in the measures taken by the state to confront the crisis and limit the spread of the virus.
DNA extraction
Khalifa University participated in the manufacture of the chemical solution, which works to extract the DNA of the emerging corona virus (Covid-19), which is one of the main components in examining the virus, and the chemical solution has proven its effectiveness, as the process of manufacturing the first batch of the solution, which includes 200 thousand units, began. To cover 25% of the market's need, which is the same percentage that was imported from abroad, so that it is now manufactured in the emirate with the same quality level, which is being imported.
The genetic writing of unknown bacteria
Two students from the Department of Life Sciences at the College of Science at the United Arab Emirates University: Al-Reem Saif Al-Kaabi and Yasmine Amer Salha have explored the genetic writing methods of unknown bacteria, and learned about the whole genome sequence of bacteria using third-generation sequencing technology, through a scientific research entitled: «Whole genome sequencing Bacteria that promote plant growth », which contributes to the drawing of a genetic map, can be used as a biological control agent in an innovative way, in relation to promoting plant growth and agriculture.
Epidemics simulation
A research team from the Center for Big Data Analytics at the United Arab Emirates University has developed a simulation tool for the spread of epidemics to help community members understand the effects of social distancing and isolation in the development of the epidemic, allowing the user to model the behavior of the virus, and a settings panel is provided to explore the characteristics of the spread in small, medium or large cities, The simulator also contains four settings that allow simulating social distancing and the permissible range for work or visiting other homes, visiting social and entertainment areas or going to schools, and all possibilities can be set before simulation is configured or during runtime to monitor effects during simulation.
Touchless technologies
A team of researchers, innovators and students from the United Arab Emirates University, with the support of the Emirates University Science and Innovation Park, launched an emerging company that provides innovative technologies that work without touch, to help reduce touching potentially contaminated areas, in order to reduce the risk of transmission, and developed the keyboard «TchK» For elevators, which operate by simply placing a finger near the desired button without touching its surface.
Mental health
A scientific research team from the United Arab Emirates University, the University of Sharjah, and international universities and organizations conducted a scientific study on the impact of the emerging corona virus on mental health, and the quality of life among the residents of the countries of the Middle East and North Africa and the United Arab Emirates, and the study included more than 9,000 people from most Arab countries, where the participants completed a questionnaire on the negative effects of the "Covid-19" epidemic on mental health, and its impact on social and family support and lifestyle.
Flattening the curve of the virus
A team of mathematicians and economists from New York University Abu Dhabi conducted a study on how to balance the need to flatten the curve of the spread of the new Corona virus (Covid-19) and reduce the levels of its spread, while trying to limit economies' long-term damage that is likely to continue Durable, as the team developed a mathematical model, it could provide policymakers looking for the best approach to assess the human and economic costs of precautionary measures taken to contain the pandemic.
Home stone
Within the practical and applied aspect that the university offers to its students, a team of Abu Dhabi University students, under the supervision of a teaching staff, was able to develop an innovative home quarantine application, where students were successfully able to test their technical skills and contribute to facing the Coronavirus pandemic.
The new application is based on the advantages of artificial intelligence and positioning, which enables the supervision of quarantined persons, and ensures their compliance with the instructions issued by the competent authorities.
The application was developed by: Maha Yaghi and Tasnim Basmaji, two students of a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Abu Dhabi University, and under the supervision of Dr. Muhammad Ghazal, Head of the Department.
10 Research Grants To Support Coronavirus Confrontation
New York University Abu Dhabi has announced the award of 10 grants to support research projects on the emerging coronavirus (Covid-19), to a number of university professors in various disciplines, including science, engineering and social sciences. This step came with the aim of strengthening research and studies that focus on the effects of the epidemic and ways to reduce them, as part of its continuous efforts towards combating this epidemic, at the local and global levels.
The grant-winning research studies include a number of projects in multiple fields, including medical methods and tools for detecting and diagnosing the virus, tools used in examinations and determining transmission methods, policy analysis and data collection to support governments' response to the crisis and its impact on the health of society and its individuals, in addition to the impact of the epidemic on the market. Labor, global supply chain, and other aspects.
The virtual doctor
Khalifa University of Science and Technology launched the Khalifa University Summer Challenge 2020 for grade 11 and 12 students. This year's challenge is based on designing a "virtual doctor", a system that links patients with available doctors, to benefit from their medical consultations without the need to visit them in medical centers.
The "virtual doctor" system requires students to design it in a way that proves the effectiveness of its use, in emergency situations in which it is difficult to reach the hospital, or in emergency cases in which a doctor is not available in the area, or there is no time to reach the hospital, or cases that occur late The night, noting the need for the default system to have various options to facilitate the process of choosing a doctor, including: the "manual" option for the user, the "automatic" option for the available and distinguished doctor, and the "automatic" option to choose the widely preferred doctor. The judges in the competition will focus on the ease of use of the application.
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A research project, launched by Khalifa University, focused on epidemiology, diagnostics, medical devices and digital tools, to limit the spread of "Covid-19".
- Khalifa University of Science and Technology has established a research task force, specializing in the Corona virus.
A team from the UAE and Sharjah universities, and international universities and organizations, studied the impact of Corona on mental health.