Dr. Ali Bin Saud Al-Bimani, Vice-Chancellor of the National University of Science and Technology, announced that the College of Advanced Technology (CAT) was declared as the fourth college in addition to the current three colleges, pursuant to Ministerial Decision No. (6/2022) issued on 17/03/2022 by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation, praising the great support and cooperation provided by the Ministry in this regard.
Dr. Ali Al-Bimani also indicated in a press statement that the establishment of this college comes considering the tremendous development of the technological revolution, stressing that the new college will be characterized by high quality and great efficiency, and will offer the labor market with distinguished graduates who enjoy the spirit of creativity and innovation and can deal with the latest technological devices, and the desire to move towards entrepreneurship.
The VC of the University indicated that the New College would focus on the disciplines of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science (DS) and Analytics, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things (IoT) and Cybersecurity, and Computer Science and Engineering to keep pace with achieving the goals of the Oman vision 2040.
Dr. Salem Bin Khamis Al-Araimi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs and Scientific Research), pointed out that the declaration of the College of Advanced Technology comes in line with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which stems from the tremendous successes and achievements of the Third Industrial Revolution, especially in the field of the Internet, and its huge processing power, the ability to store information, and the unlimited possibilities of access to knowledge. Today, these achievements opened favorable prospects to unlimited possibilities through breakthroughs in technologies in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, Internet of things, self-driving vehicles, 3D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, quantum computing, Blockchain, etc.
Dr. Salem Bin Khamis Al-Araimi said that after the establishment of the fourth college, the National University will have four colleges, namely the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, the College of Engineering, the College of Pharmacy, and the College of Advanced Technology, which will be in the Wilayat of Seeb in the Governorate of Muscat.
It is worth noting that the National University of Science and Technology started its work in the Sultanate of Oman in 2018 by merging three leading educational institutions: Caledonian College of Engineering, which was established in 1996 in academic collaboration with Glasgow Caledonian University, UK, and Oman Medical College, which was established in 2001 in an academic partnership with the University of West Virginia, USA, the Department of Pharmacy at Oman Medical College as well as the School of Foundation Studies which was part of Caledonian College of Engineering, which is another institution serving the three colleges by offering Foundation Program.
The National University of Science and Technology is affiliated with reputable international academic institutions to ensure working with international best practices from different partnerships to add value and provide the best higher education experience in the country.
The National University has attracted international students from more than 30 countries around the world, believing that students who come from different countries have unique educational experiences and talents that will contribute to adding value in revitalizing university life.
Also, the colleges of the National University, since their establishment, have supplied the labor market with more than 10,700 graduates, including 1,121 from the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, 721 from the College of Pharmacy, and 8948 from the College of Engineering. Currently, 3,757 Omani and international students are studying at the university.