Research Retreat, 2022

The Office of Research at Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar  (VCUarts Qatar) – a Qatar Foundation partner university – organized a two-day Research Retreat, at the W Hotel.

The principal goal of the retreat was to strengthen institutional support for increased and continued success of Research Lab activities, objectives, and impacts.

This was the first time that the University had arranged an intensive retreat exclusively for faculty engaged in research in creative practice. The retreat was attended by VCUarts Qatar’s Dean Amir Berbić, as well the directors and chairs of various academic and non-academic departments at the University.

Day one saw the University’s many Research Labs – Sonic Jeel, Nanotechnology and Textiles, Boost Lab, Multi-modal Mathematics, TypeAraby, Water With Water, X-Labs, and DatLab – each make a presentation showcasing the scope, goals and objectives of their research; activities and outcomes to date; contributions; and current and potential impact within creative practice, the classroom, and the wider community.

During the second day, attendees took part in an Interdisciplinary Collaboration Workshop conducted by the Alliance For The Arts In Research In Universities (a 2 ru). Based in the US, A2RU fosters and champions the role of the arts, design, and arts integration in higher education. Maryrose Flanigan, Executive Director, and Veronica Dittman Stanich, Research Program Manager, from a 2 ru, conducted the workshops.

This workshop addressed key challenges in interdisciplinary collaborations. Through interactive activities, participants explored approaches and processes to effectively capitalize on collaborative opportunities through a series of targeted activities. They discussed tools to identify, articulate, and optimize research impacts in the creative disciplines. They also examined strategic approaches to research dissemination driven by their research aims.