IbriCT represented by Dr Hafedh Al-Rahbi, ADAA, Dr Duhai Al-Shukaili, head of IT department, Dr Abdulrahman Al-Ismaili, head of Busienss Studies department, Mr Mohammed Al-Sakiti, head of IEU, Dr Amal Al-Abri, IT lecturer, and four engineering students, participated in the Nationaly Symposium for the National Strategy for R & D 2040. It was organised by The Resaerch Council (TRC) on Sunday, 15th December 2019, at the Oman Convention and Exhibition Center, Muscat. Delegates from various government and private institutuions participated in the sysmposium, which aimed at finalising the national strategy for research and development 2040.
The presentation was intended to give awareness to Engineering Department staff on various TRC Funding Programmes, its policies, the review process, thrust areas, eligibility and evaluation criteria and submission process. The TRC Policies on PI and RI, eligible costs, salary, stipend and scholarship, equipment ownership, support acknowledgment, budget adjustments, validation of expenditure and auditing and submission of reports were discussed.
All the Research Programmes under the TRC, Oman, were introduced, giving more emphasis on the RG and URG Programmes. TRC Proposal Submission and Review Process were discussed in detail. In addition, the RCC policy of Ibri College of Technology was briefed and the staff were informed about the requirements and timelines for carrying out research in the college. Intellectual property rights, and its filing procedure based on the IP Policy were also discussed.
The Staff Development Committee and the Research and Consultancy Committee of the Engineering Department organised a programme on “Artificial Intelligence” on 22 December 2019 from 1.30 to 2.30 pm in B001, Free Access lab.
Dr G. Kumaravel, lecturer, Electrical Section, Engineering Department, delivered a presentation. The session started with an introduction and current scenario of artificial intelligence. The structure and features of artificial intelligence were elaborately discussed. Finally, the session ended with a case study in PV powered standalone power system.
This programme was well received by the staff and highly beneficial to the participants.
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Oman Section held its end of the year programme, “IEEE Oman Gathering 2019”, on 17 December 2019, 6pm, at the Student Hub, Middle East College, Knowledge Oasis, Muscat.
Ibri College of Technology sent four of its IEEE Professional Members from the Engineering Department: Mr Abdul Hafeez Sajid, Mr Aaron James, Mr Srinivas Rao, and Mrs Lizette Ivy C. Pascual, to attend the event. In addition, Mr Jitin Matthew, from the Information Technology (IT) Department also joined to listen to the talk on the Internet of Things (IoT), which was among the topics discussed during the programme. IEEE-IbriCT Student Branch members were also invited to attend; however, due to the ongoing final examinations, the students were unable to go.
The welcome speech was delivered by Middle East College, Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, Dr Anupam Srivastav, representing the host of the event.
It was followed by the IEEE Oman Section Report of Activities and Status and Achievements of 2018-2019 by the Incumbent Chairman, Dr Ahmed Al-Maashri.
Former IEEE Oman Section Chairman, Dr Amer Al Hinai, also briefed the audience on the “Role of Voluntary Work in Advancing Humanity”. He cited all the programmes and events that they organized under the umbrella of IEEE and those in partnership with other professional bodies or organisations, educational institutions, and the industry.
CISCO Systems Representative, Dr Turki Al-Yahmadi, delivered an interesting presentation about IoT: Needs and Challenges. It was concise but informative; he would have delivered a more thorough lecture if not for the short time limit.
IEEE Oman Section, starting in 2020, will be awarding the following to deserving individuals: Best Paper and Best Volunteer from Industry. The requirements, mechanics, and criteria to qualify and win were presented by Dr Mahmoud Ibrahim Masoud, Education Officer, IEEE-Oman Section.
Towards the end of the programme, various plaques/mementos were awarded to several individuals: professionals and students, mostly for the volunteer work they have done for IEEE Oman Section.
The Risk Management Committee of the Engineering Department organised a workshop on risk identification techniques on 18 December 2019 from 2 to 3 pm.
Mr J. Stephen Leon, coordinator of the Risk Management Committee for the Engineering Department, conducted the workshop.
The workshop started with an introduction about the risk management policy. This workshop was conducted to analyse some of the different techniques available for identification and categorisation of various types of risks. In addition, the ranking process of risks according to their severity was discussed.
As a part of the workshop, an activity was conducted with participants in which they were asked to identify and categorise some of the risks they faced in the college.
All the participants actively participated in the workshop.
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.
The Research and Consultancy Committee of the Information Technology Department conducted an orientation session on “TRC Research Grant and Undergraduate Research Grant Schemes for Staff Members” on 19 November at 12:30 pm in A201 (FFA Lab). Dr Anupriya, Lecturer, Information Technology, was the resource person.
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 and faculty members of Higher Educational Institutes (HEIs) in Oman previously and currently citing changes between the previous and current schemes. She discussed the Research Grant (RG) and Undergraduate Research Grant (URG) schemes, their requirements, team structure, and budgetary provisions, along with constraints imposed by the scheme. She also gave information about the block funding scheme of the TRC.
She then made the participants aware about the college’s efforts in the past few years in seeking grants and success stories. Dr Anupriya also gave various pointers 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 everyone to register on the TRC portal and explore more about the schemes and research funding opportunities.
In all, it was a concise and informative talk for all aspiring researchers who wish to seek funding from the TRC.
Presenting information through official templates of various documents in an organized way, adds the touch of authenticity. Documentation is a prominent activity of quality assurance in the college and it strives to adhere to the strict standards of presenting documentation. As part of the process, the quality assurance coordinator, Ms Zahra Zohair Arab, conducted an awareness session on the documentation policy for English Language Centre staff on 8 October 2019, in VIP room. The session focused on different elements of templates to be used for different purposes. The objective of the session was to maintain uniformity in the documentation process across all colleges of technology using prescribed templates. She also took the staff through a series of guidelines on formatting, indexing, version control and revision while preparing a document. Ms Zahra highlighted the importance of the plagiarism policy and conveyed that deviation from the set rules is not accepted. The session ended with a description of a proposed layout of the standard document structure.
A training programme on the use of Turnitin software for checking plagiarism, as part of academic integrity, was an initiative taken by the Professional Development Committee of the English Language Centre. It was conducted on 15 October 2019. The presenter, Mr Abdullah Mubarak Al Shukeily, demonstrated the use of Turnitin to check the similarity of any document to find plagiarised text and generate similarity reports. The session was highly useful for the teachers who attended the session and was supplemented with tips shared to assess assignments and projects submitted by students.
The ELC PD Committee, Ibri College of Technology organized a TES Talk program. The program was officially launched under the auspices of College Dean Dr. Hamadan Al-Manthari on 3rd December 2019 at 12:00 pm in the VIP room.
The overview of TES Talk program was presented during the launch. The program aims to give ELT practitioners the real opportunity to self-learning. It is a platform that caters to various ELT topics that directly touch the work of ELT teachers.
Faisal Al Shamali, Head of ELC PD Committee, stated “With the constant support and encouragement that we receive from the College, we are certain that TES Talk program will be able to achieve its fundamental goals. The success of the program would reflect positively on ELC Staff Development Program. Undeniably, teachers’ continuous professional growth contributes to students’ success.”
The highlights of the launch were the talks from Emilia Ibrahim and Rashid Al Handasi, the first TES Talk guest speakers. Emilia talked about “Joy of Teaching” while Rashid shared his significant achievements and teaching experiences.
Dr. Hamdan Al Manthari gave the closing remark. He congratulated and thanked the people behind the TES Talk program, ELC’s HoSs, Dr. Sultan Al Ghafri and Dr. Maryam Al Ghafri and the ELC PD Committee. He said that TES Talk program would allow ELC staff to share their teaching experience in micro and macro cosmic teaching, learning atmosphere.
In return for helping the launch a success, Rashid and Emilia received certificates of appreciation. Dr. Hamdan, together with Dr. Sultan and Dr. Maryam, presented the certificates to the guest speakers.
