The Ministry of Education, through the Bahrain National Commission for Education, Science and Culture, organised a national workshop on measuring research and experimental development statistics, in collaboration with the Higher Education Council and coordinated with UNESCO and its Institute for Statistics (UIS) in Montreal, Canada. The event was attended by over 200 representatives from Bahrain's public, private, non-profit, and higher education sectors.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak Juma, Minister of Education, highlighted the importance of tracking experimental research and development (R&D) data to guide national policy and strategic planning, strengthen research practices, and support the knowledge economy. He emphasised Bahrain’s commitment to UNESCO’s annual surveys, national data submissions, and R&D initiatives to boost its international rankings in research, science, innovation, and competitiveness.
The Minister also noted the role of research in achieving Sustainable Development Goal 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure), particularly metrics such as R&D spending relative to GDP and researcher density. He thanked UNESCO experts and encouraged active engagement from participants.
The three-day workshop is led by Dr. Anasse Bouhlal, Regional Programme Specialist for Higher Education and TVET at the UNESCO Regional Office for the Gulf States and Yemen based in Doha, and Rohan Pathirage, Assistant Programme Specialist in Science, Technology and Innovation Statistics at UIS. They will be covering key R&D terminology, survey completion guidelines, sector-specific requirements, and strategies to ensure high-quality, internationally compliant data.