Faculty members and masters’ students from Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU)  College of Science and Engineering (CSE), College of Law, and  College of Public Policy (CPP) have been recognized in the CSR-Sport category at the Qatar CSR Summit Awards 2024.

Qatar CSR Awards honor organizations and individuals that embrace corporate social responsibility (CSR) in their business philosophy and operations to achieve positive impact on stakeholders and adopt innovative sustainable solutions to pressing social challenges. The awards also recognize the outstanding achievements of organizations and teams that have contributed to the development of CSR and sustainability agenda in the country.

HBKU was awarded for a study that examined the extent to which, and means of how, 47 listed firms across seven sectors registered on the Qatar Stock Exchange use sport in their CSR agendas. Funded by HBKU’s Office of the Vice President for Research, researchers addressed challenges presented by extensive datasets, typically annual reports covering a period of 10-15 years with an average of 80-100 pages per report. Due to the limitations of manual analysis, the methodology incorporated the capabilities of ChatGPT API to automate the process efficiently while maintaining accuracy and reliability.

HBKU’s award-winning research team comprised:

Lead Principal Investigator:

Dr. Christos Anagnostopoulos, UNESCO Chairholder on Governance and Social Responsibility in Sport, and Assistant Professor, CSE

Principal Investigators:

Dr. Brenno Menezes, Assistant Professor, CSE

Dr. Kamilla Swart-Arries, Associate Professor, CSE

Dr. Ilias Bantekas, Professor, College of Law

Dr. Kim Moloney, Assistant Professor, CPP

Research Assistants: 

Ms. Sumaya Rahman, Candidate, Master of Science in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, CSE

Ms. Syeda Rizvi, Candidate, Master of Data Analytics in Health Management, CSE

Commenting on the award, Dr. Christos Anagnostopoulos said: “One of the key objectives of the HBKU’s UNESCO Chair on Governance and Social Responsibility in Sport is to establish a sustainable network of academics, practitioners, and other key stakeholders with a common interest in good governance and social responsibility in sport at a national and international level. The annual CSR Summit is the most prestigious event on matters concerning CSR within Qatar, and we can realize our objectives much easier and more impactfully by working together.”

This year’s CSR Summit Awards attracted 114 entries from the public and private sectors. Winners were selected by a panel of 20 experts from academia, businesses, government departments, and non-governmental organizations.

Dr. Mounir Hamdi, is the Founding Dean. CSE,  added: “Our unique model of providing multidisciplinary research in areas  vital to HBKU’s vision and mission means that the university has attracted, and continues to attract, exceptional researchers and students. Receiving an award for a study that brings scholarly activity and practice closer is an excellent example of the caliber of research faculty and students at the College of Science and Engineering.”