In the academic year 2021–2022, Dr. Abdulsalam Al Manthari and Dr. Mohsen Amiri delivered three presentations at different conferences and symposiums. The first presentation was delivered at the Oman International ELT Virtual Conference at Sultan Qaboos University on October 15, 2021. The topic of the presentation was Interpersonal Skills and Personality Development for GFP Students. The second presentation was presented at the ELT symposium at UTAS-Shinas on May 17,2022. Both presenters spoke about the challenges, opportunities, and effective strategies The of teaching English in the GFP. The third presentation was conducted in person at the ‘First National Symposium on Post-pandemic ELT: from Reflation to Action Research’ organized by the English Language Center at UTAS-Ibra. The Importance of Extracurricular Activities for the GFP Students was the topic of the presentation that was highly appreciated by the participants of the session.
The Staff Development Committee of the Engineering department, organized online program titled "Effective Utilization of Masader for Engineering Department Courses” on Thursday, 21st, April 2022 at 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM. The program session addressed by Dr. Prasanna Venkatesh, Lecturer, (Mechanical Engineering).
In his presentation, he explained about What is Masader? What it contains? Who is Masader for? How Masader is evolved? How to access Masader? etc. He also explained How to browse about certain topics in Masader. Also about the various filters available within the Masader website etc.
The session was very interactive, many faculties from different department were participated in the discussions. The staff members felt that the presentation was very much useful and effective. Totally 32 staffs were participated.
The Staff Development Committee (SDC) of the Business Studies Department organized a workshop on "Psychological Wellbeing” on Thursday, 16th June 2022 from 10.00 a.m to 11.00 a.m at the VIP Room. The welcome address was given by Dr.Tamilselvan and Dr. Abdullah Al Mahrouqi, a Nursing faculty at Oman college of Health Sciences-Ibri, started the presentation by focusing on the basics to be followed to maintain the health physically and mentally. He continued the session with the objective of how to maintain a workplace balance by following various concepts and then he discussed about the positive and negative aspects of work wellbeing. The final part of the session was about the features and limitaitions of psychological balance with related to everyone detailed in a clear manner. There was a Q&A session at the end to clarify the participants’ doubts and enquiries. The College Dean, Dr. Hamdan Al Manthari, handed a certificate of appreciation to the speaker thanking him for his valuable insights. Overall, 30 faculty members from all departments attended the workshop.
The SDC & SRCC committees of the Business Studies Department organized a webinar on “Teaching Research Nexus” on Thursday, 2nd June 2022 from 10 to 11 am and was delivered by Dr Tamanna Dalwai, Deputy Director of Quality Assurance, Assistant Professor, Muscat College. The webinar started with a welcoming address by Dr Manjula Veerabhadrappa and Mr Mohammed Khamis Alsakiti introduced the resource person. Then, the speaker, Dr Tamanna Dalwai, started with a research quote. Further, she lucidly demonstrated real-time examples on research nexus as me, myself and you, and enlightened about seven dimensions of teaching research along with benefits for active staff. At the end, she addressed the participants’ questions relating to teaching research nexus. Overall, the presentation was very informative and thought provoking for the staff members to be involved in research. A vote of thanks was given by Dr Surender Vaddepalli.
The Staff Development Committee (SDC) of the Business Studies Department organized a workshop on “Games for Students’ Engagement” on Thursday, 9th June 2022 from 11.00 a.m to 12.00 p.m at the Room No A214A. A welcome speech was given by Dr Vijay, and then the presenter, Ms. Safiya Saif Nasser Al Hamdi, HoS-HR, started the workshop by focusing on the basic platforms to be used for students engagement in the class like Alphabet Chain, Entrance and Exit Cards, Random Term and One-minute Paper. As a second important part of the presentation, she discussed about Baamboozle platform, how to create games quizand and how students can select the questions by themselves to answer and get points. These platforms created interest among faculty members and pave a way to apply it in classes. Overall, 40 faculty members from all departments attended the worksho. At the end, a vote of thanks was given by Dr.Vijay Padugiri and all the participants provided positive feedback.
The ELC has always been a support platform for the community, university staff and students. In continuation with providing services and knowledge contributions, Dr. Mohsen Amiri conducted a two-day intensive English course for the administrative staff of the university. In this course, the most common written and spoken phrases related to the workplace taught were made available in the form of a booklet, written and compiled by Dr. Mohsen. In addition, the most common mistakes made by employees in writing and speaking have been covered in various ways and one of them was role-playing. Excellent feedback was received from the participants at the end of the course. Certificates of course completion were awarded to the participants by the ELC.
After establishing the official training office, the Students’ Activities Committee received many students. In order to prepare students for the midterm and final exams, the committee decided to organize tutorial workshops for each level. In the first semester (AY 2021-2022), the committee organized six (Writing & Speaking) workshops, and in the second semester, the number of workshops reached 12. Out of 18 workshops, 16 were done by Dr. Mohsen Amiri and Ms. Adeebah Al Sawafi for foundation students. Two workshops were done by Ms. Sandra (TW1, March 29) and Ms. Lubna (Level 2 Writing, April 24). The second semester’s workshops were like a series, and more than 800 students attended, not only from our university but also from many other colleges and universities in Oman. The recorded sessions of all the workshops are available on the English Society Teams channel and Instagram. Each workshop lasted for 2 hours. Some of the workshops are available on YouTube as well. The committee would like to thank Ms. Moza, Samiya and Mr. Syam for their active role in the workshops. Last but not least, we would like to appreciate Dr. Abdulsalam (HOC) for his constant support and encouragement throughout this remarkable achievement.
The Research and Consultancy Committee of engineering department organized a research presentation on “Need and Importance of Research in Engineering” on 26th May 2022 at 11 am. Dr V. Ilankumaran, Head of Section, Engineering department, delivered his speech. He stared his speech by giving clear differences between science, engineering and technology and then he encouraged the participants to give some examples related to that fields. He shared his rich knowledge and experience in various fields of research in engineering sector. Then, he briefed about innovation and intellectual property rights. Also, he iterated about the importance of finding problem in the particular field and finding the solutions in a feasible way. He concluded the session by elaborating the various recent inventions with selected examples. The presentation was well received by the staff members with very good interaction. Around 30 staff members were participated in this event.
The Peer Tutoring Program has been one of the most popular activities in the second semester. After commencing the English Society Office, a vast number of students enrolled in the Peer Tutoring Program. According to available records, our tutors have trained more than 60 students in about 150 sessions in semester 2 in the English Society office. More than 300 students visited and have been trained in one-to-one and small group sessions by Dr. Mohsen, Ms. Adeebah and Mr. Mazaher.
The head and the second lead of the Students’ Activities Committee have been available every day in the office from 9 to 10:30 a.m. for training students and monitoring tutors. For quality assurance purposes, photos and appointment forms are available for the record. The committee generated six talented students(Tutors) by training them before teaching other peers(Tutees). Based on students’ feedback, the GFP students have found the English Society office a positive and unique environment to learn and practice English.
The Students’ Activities Committee had a successful and fruitful visit to Fatma Bint Assad School on March 31st, 2022. Our English Society mentors delivered outstanding motivational speeches for grade 10 and 11 students. They also shared their experiences and activities with the students and conducted a small competition. Dr Mohsen and Ms Adeeba accompanied the students by presenting the importance of the English language and life skills. The feedback from students and school authorities was impressive. The school authorities warmly welcomed and thanked the committee members and students at the end of the program.
