Majan College organises international conference

Muscat: Majan University College held its fourth international conference at its Darsait campus on March 19 and 20.
The chief guest was Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Nadabi, undersecretary for Civil Service Affairs. Sheikh Rashad bin Ahmed Al Hinai, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Sports Affairs and the Chair of Majan College’s Board of Trustees welcomed the chief guest. Among the distinguished guests was Sheikh Salah Hilal Al Maawali, CEO, SME Development Fund.
The conference, technically sponsored by IEEE, and with sponsors including National Bank of Oman (NBO) and Riyada, addressed themes related to the promotion of skills in such areas as entrepreneurship, management, information technology and critical thinking. It attracted more than 170 paper submissions, from which about 60 were selected for presentation. The conference also benefited greatly from the keynote speeches by Richard Kemp, CEO of Leadership Quantum; Dr Seifedine Kadry, Associate Professor at Beirut Arab University, Lebanon; Ahmed Al Musalmi, CEO of NBO; and Professor Gilly Salmon, Professor of Innovation and Transformation at Liverpool University, UK.
Activities aimed specifically at students, such as workshops and poster presentations, were also conducted as part of the college’s Student Research Day, and a very successful student debate took place.
The many participants from within and beyond the Sultanate who presented papers or attended considered the event successful. They particularly praised the interactive nature of the sessions, which provided plenty of scope for discussion and questions, and the topicality of many of the issues addressed.
Majan College holds an international conference every two to three years to offer a platform for local, regional and international speakers on issues of particular relevance to the Sultanate, including the continuing development and diversification of Oman’s economy, and the role of higher education within that context. The conference was designed to highlight Majan College’s growing reputation as a centre of excellence for teaching, learning and research.