Research has always been one of the primary goals of any university.
In carrying out its mission, NDU has always strived to generate knowledge and understanding through research and scholarship in the sciences, humanities and professional disciplines.

The Panel Discussion Series, “Common Platforms for Bridging World Cultures,” sponsored by the Office of the Vice President of Sponsored Research and Development, Notre Dame University, was proposed by Prof. Naji Oueijan to commemorate the EU Year of Cross-cultural and Inter-Cultural Dialogues (2008), and to serve as prelude to the forthcoming IAU Annual Conference (International Association of Universities) to take place at NDU during November 2009, and to encourage research activities among NDU faculty members and students. This series of panel discussions address cross-cultural and inter-cultural dialogues as an endeavor to locate common grounds with the “Other”. 

In each panel, full-time faculty members and selected students from the NDU Faculties may address a particular theme of cross-cultural dialogue with emphasis on their fields of study. (Participants may include scholars and students from outside NDU). Faculty and student presenters of papers from the same discipline may share sessions, whereby each speaker would be given 20 minutes followed by a discussion period equivalent to half the time of presentations. Sessions related to specific fields of study may be attended by concerned faculty members and their students who may be asked to write special reports about the presentations.

Selected and refereed papers and reports will be published in a special edition/s by the NDU Press.