Problems, Problems, Problems

When we first began working on Project 1, our main goal was to identify real problems in Qatar and explore solutions that align with Qatar National Vision 2030. During one of our class brainstorming sessions, we initially came up with three main issues: the high cost of water desalination, Qatar's heavy reliance on air conditioning, and the growing plastic waste problem. After presenting these ideas to Dr. Naqaa, she helped us refine them and showed us how to properly define a problem. With her guidance, we also defined a fourth issue: the high operational cost faced by small and medium enterprises. This gave us a clearer and more structured starting point.

Once we finalized the four potential problems, we needed a fair way to choose the strongest option. To do that, we created a decision matrix based on the four pillars of Qatar National Vision 2030: Human Development, Social Development, Economic Development, and Environmental Development. These categories allowed us to evaluate each issue from multiple perspectives and understand the bigger impact it has on the country. With this framework, we scored each problem according to how severely it affects each area.

The first problem we evaluated was the high cost of desalination. Because Qatar relies almost entirely on desalinated water, the process is extremely energy intensive and depends on large amounts of fossil fuels. As the population continues to grow, the economic and environmental burden will only increase. More efficient technologies like solar-powered reverse osmosis could reduce both emissions and operating costs.

We also explored the high operational cost of SMEs. Starting and maintaining a business in Qatar requires significant financial investment, which discourages new entrepreneurs and slows economic diversification. Developing shared-resource applications or affordable energy-saving devices could reduce some of these expenses and support the goals of QNV 2030.

Plastic waste was another major issue on our list from the beginning. Despite having recycling facilities, Qatar's high consumption rates mean a lot of plastic still ends up in landfills or is burned. Encouraging recycling participation and introducing technologies such as smart shredders or plastic-based 3D printing could help address the growing waste problem.

Lastly, we considered Qatar's heavy dependence on air conditioning. AC usage accounts for more than two-thirds of the country's electricity consumption, leading to high costs and environmental strain, especially during the summer. Energy-efficient cooling systems and renewable-powered solutions could help reduce this load.

After scoring all four issues in our decision matrix, plastic waste and insufficient recycling came out with the highest overall impact. Because of its strong environmental relevance and long-term importance, we selected it as our main focus for Project 1.