Abu Dhabi: The International Fund for Houbara Conservation (IFHC) and Khalifa University of Science and Technology have signed a partnership agreement at the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (ADIHEX).
The partnership will focus on scientific research and training, including robotics, intelligent systems, genetics, and genomics, in breeding projects. It will further seek to provide training opportunities for students as well as drive employment for qualified national talent in technical and scientific roles at IFHC.
The signing ceremony took place at the IFHC pavilion and was attended by Mr. Abdulla Ghurair Al Qubaisi, Director General of the International Fund for Houbara Conservation, Mr. John O’Reilly, President of Khalifa University of Science and Technology, and Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice President of Khalifa University of Science and Technology.
As part of the partnership, two research agreements will be initiated to further the understanding of the houbara species. The first agreement will stress the use of intelligent systems through the development of computational models to analyze data related to bird positioning, vegetation categorization, individual bird detection and distance tracking, camera trap footage analysis, and the analysis of images of captive-bred birds.
The second agreement will focus on robotics through the development of a houbara robot, which will help in ecological study on-site and will assist in gathering information about wild houbara species in their natural environment.
This collaboration will accelerate the research objectives of the fund and provide valuable insights into various aspects of the lives of houbara bustards and their natural habitat. The research agreement with Khalifa University will see robotics being utilised to help conduct behavioural studies of the houbara birds.
Mr. Al Qubaisi shared.
Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice President of Khalifa University of Science and Technology, remarked that “The Khalifa University is pleased to collaborate with the International Fund for Houbara Conservation to enhance research for wildlife protection. This partnership will allow the fund to leverage the research expertise and capabilities of Khalifa University, enhancing the role of universities as prominent national research institutions in advancing the objectives of this distinctive global model for conserving endangered species.”