An Orientation Session for Students on External Funding Opportunities 

The Research and Consultancy Committee of the Information Technology Department conducted an orientation session on “External Funding Opportunities” on 26 November at 12:30 pm in the Main Building, room number A215. Dr Anupriya and Mr Guru Prasath, lecturers, Information Technology, with Mr Arthur Davis, lecturer, Engineering Department, were the resource persons. The main objectives of this session were:

• To make students aware of importance of being involved in research,
• To familiarise students with the different funding programmes available in Oman, and
• To share knowledge and experiences of experts having success stories.

The workshop started with a formal welcome and opening remarks by Dr Qais, lecturer and coordinator, Research and Consultancy Committee, Information Technology.  Dr Anupriya first gave a brief introduction about the government funding agency i.e. TRC in the Sultanate of Oman and their goals. She then introduced different funding schemes available for students of Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) in Oman. Mainly, Undergraduate Research Grant (URG) schemes, their requirements, team structure, and budget limits, project duration, along with constraints imposed by the scheme. Dr Anupriya also gave various pointers to students from where detailed information about submitting a proposal can be sought. She also informed the audience about where the documents related to different proposals are available and how to access them. In the end she recommended students to register on the TRC portal and explore more about the schemes and research funding opportunities.

In the second part, Mr Guru Prasath, who received funding for his students’ project briefed students and staff about his project which was based on optimisation problem and how they solved it. He also shared his experiences and problems faced during the project. He discussed various areas which can be targeted and made students aware of level of competition in the field of doing innovative projects which impact the nation.

In the last part, in his brief but effective talk, Mr Arthur Davis motivated students to take up research problems, analyse them and provide solutions. He defined research in a very simple way. Being part of few funded projects, he shared his experiences about how the Engineering Department approach nearby organisations to ask about the problems they face in the field. Then, how they analyse the problem itself to provide solutions which are feasible and coming up with proposals seeking funds. He guided students of Information Technology and motivated them to approach small organisations around, discuss their problems and make an effort to solve them. 

The orientation witnessed enthusiastic response from the audience present. All in all, it was an effective talk for all aspiring researchers among students and from staff who wish to seek funding from the TRC.