The Research and Consultancy Committee of the Engineering department organized a presentation, titled “Training program on Electromagnetic transient’s program software” on May 17, 2023 from 01.00 PM to 2.00 PM. Mr. Prasad Yadav Kurikyala, Lecturer in Engineering department is conducted the program. He started his presentation with the introduction of What is EMTP, Why Choose EMTP software Then, he detailed the Welcome page of the software, how to Adjust resolution for device and create a new design, Quick presentation of the EMTP ribbons, create a simple circuit, add scopes, run a time domain simulation, Display the results with scope View, how to find the Load-Flow solution, Run a frequency scan with simulation examples. Finally, he concluded the session with an example of how to model a phase to ground fault and simulated with EMTP software. The session was interactive and staff members participated in the program with much enthusiasm.
The University of Technology and Applied Sciences (UTAS-Ibri), through the Staff Development Committee of the IT Department conducted a face-to-face seminar on the challenges and opportunities of ChatGPT for Educators on 24th May 2023 at 12 PM in the IT Meeting Room. The invited speaker was Dr. Francisco P Dumanig, an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii (Hilo), USA. Dr. Francisco outlined his presentation as follows: ChatGPT background, the benefits and challenges of ChatGPT, strategies for maximizing the benefits and overcoming challenges of ChatGPT. He mentioned that ChatGPT is an advanced language model developed by OpenAI which can support learners outside the classroom. Moreover, the presenter talked about some of the limitations of ChatGPT in classrooms such as it might provide incorrect or nonsensical responses and the responses are based on pre-existing data.
Similarly, ChatGPT provides potentials in teaching. It can assist in the research and writing tasks, as well as in developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Also, it has the ability to simulate authentic language interactions and it offers personalized feedback. Dr Francisco also shared some of the benefits of ChatGPT such as it enhances language practice and production and allows access to vast language resources. In contrary, there are challenges in the use of ChatGPT like for example, it encourages learners to cheat, bias and cultural sensitivity and accuracy and limitations of AI-powered tools. In conclusion, Dr Francis reiterated that ChatGPT offers promising opportunities for educators, offering a unique tool to support teaching and learning, and it provides learners with additional language practice, encourages reflection and analysis and offers opportunities for a collaborative learning. Towards the end of the presentation, some of the staff shared their experiences on the use of the AI powered app – ChatGPT and raised few queries where the presenter responded in a précised manner. There were 24 staff who attended the session and a feedback was taken after the talk. The speaker garnered a mean score of 4.23 in a scale of 1-5 where 5 was the highest, which implies that the audience were satisfied with the topic and the presentation session.
The IT Team presented their research work in the form of poster presentation during the “1st Student Symposium on Research and Innovation in Computing & Information Technology (SSRICIT 23)”, in 24th May 2023 organized by the faculty of Information Technology at Majan University College, Muscat. This Symposium SSRICIT 23 was a premier opportunity for our student’s team to present their research, and to engage in discussions, and form cross-disciplinary partnerships.
Title: “EmotiCare - Application for Personalized Mental Care using Artificial Intelligence”
Presenter: Saeed Saud Al Qassabi
Co-Author: Nizar Saeed Al Shukaili
Supervisor: Dr. Wilfred Blessing N.R
“EmotiCare” is a project idea in the form of mobile application that provides mental therapy available any time with a single click. Participants explored future challenges and become acquainted with the most recent developments in their research. It was an excellent opportunity to hone student presentation skills. It was a great opportunity to connect with other students who share similar interests and passion. This can lead to valuable connections that can be leveraged in the future for collaboration on research projects, employment opportunities, or even starting a business venture. The symposium was held virtually.
The DC of the department and its “Research, Consultancy and Innovation Committee” appreciated the efforts of young student researchers.
The Staff Development Committee of the Engineering Department organized a webinar on "Applications of IoT in Engineering" on May 25, 2023, Thursday, from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM in online mode.
Prof.E.Gangadurai, Assistant Professor in the Electronics and Communication Engineering department, Velammal Engineering College, Chennai, India has delivered the presentation for the benefit of the staff members. The targeted audience for the program was the staff members in electrical and electronics engineering section.
He started his presentation with the importance of IoT and types of IoT utilized for engineering application. He briefly enlightened hardware components of IoT, such as microcontroller, sensors, actuators, cloud storage, data analytics, user interfaces, and online simulator platforms for IoT systems such as MQTT, IoTIFY, NS3, etc. Also he elaborated the revolution of IoT, Industry 4.0 and applications of IoT in biomedical engineering like wearable technology, smart jewelry, smart shoes, NFC ring, and a gaming simulator.
Finally, he illustrated the applications of IoT in electrical engineering: SCADA, smart meters, smart grids, and smart city concept. The staff members felt that the presentation was very useful and effective. A total of 23 staff members participated.
"All the world's a stage. And all the men and women merely players" William Shakespeare.
Drama as a medium goes beyond language, as social interaction involves communication at multiple levels and cross-cultural exchanges and is beyond language boundaries.The objective of the contest was to generate interest in the English Language through creative channels.
With Drama as the backdrop, Ms Nusaiba Al Ghafri and Mr Humaid Al Mamari, English language lecturers at the ELC, organized a Commercial Drama Contest at the Lecture Theatre Hall in the Engineering Building on Thursday, May 11, from 12:00 am to 2:00 pm. Groups nine and fourteen from level two participated in this contest.
Students prepared short plays in which they had to choose and advertise a product through acting performances on a stage, using English. Mr Humaid and Ms Nusaiba supervised and helped the students rehearse for the short plays. Dr Sultan Al Ghafri, Ms Sharon Ruth and Mr Michael Keeton judged the performances.
Having a drama contest and making students perform English plays were done for the first time in UTAS- Ibri. The impact was huge and impressive. Participants found the contest exciting and beneficial as they developed their English language skills. The participants and audience enjoyed the performances very much and were eager to see more events like this in the future.
Mr. Jumaa Al Shammakhi conducted a workshop titled “Classroom Management” for the ELC-Staff at UTAS-Ibri on May 23, 2023. It was a good opportunity for experienced and new teachers to discuss a fundamental aspect of teaching.
Mr. Jumaa’s main aims were to define classroom management and explain its importance. Drawing upon scholars such as Smith, Kauchak, and Eggen, he surmised that classroom management entails lesson planning and materials, the teacher’s ability to direct and motivate students, and the relationship between the teacher and the students and the students with each other. As classroom management entails all aspects of teaching, it is of the utmost importance that teachers do it well. Lastly, Mr. Jumaa gave the audience 9 ways in which to improve their classroom management skills from using available resources to adjusting the curriculum. The workshop provided a lot to think about and discuss for the next academic year.
To enhance the research capabilities of the Information Technology (IT) department, the research committee organized a talk on research paper writing, featuring esteemed guest speaker Dr. Raid on 2nd May 2023. The talk aimed to provide valuable insights and practical tips to help researchers in writing research papers.
Dr. Raid began his talk by emphasizing the significance of a well-structured and concise research paper. He stressed the need for clarity, coherence, and logical flow throughout the document, as these elements are critical for effectively communicating research findings to the broader academic community.
Drawing from his extensive experience as both a researcher and a reviewer, Dr. Raid shared a range of practical strategies to enhance the quality and impact of research papers. He discussed the importance of conducting thorough literature reviews, selecting appropriate research methodologies, and employing rigorous data analysis techniques to ensure the validity and reliability of research outcomes.
Moreover, Dr. Raid emphasized the significance of clearly defining research objectives and hypotheses, as well as the necessity of organizing research papers into distinct sections such as introduction, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusion. He also shed light on the intricacies of citation and proper referencing, urging the researchers to maintain high ethical standards in their scholarly work.
In conclusion, the participant's feedback was collected, and the speaker received an average score of 4 out of 5, indicating a highly positive response from the audience.
The Head of the English Language Centre at UTAS Ibri, Dr Abdulsalam Almanthari, represented UTAS in the Language Assessment Conference held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 8th and 9th, 2023. The British Council organised the conference to share best practices in assessment. The perspectives were shared to motivate teachers to develop modern and realistic assessment systems. The participants and speakers were experts and specialists in assessment from different countries. The conference focused on effective language assessment, modern advances in assessment, using technology such as Artificial Intelligence, automated marking, specific-purpose language assessment, and many other topics. The conference included focused group discussions and opportunities to network and share experiences with others.
The IT department of UTAS-Ibri organized a career development program titled “UpSkills and ReSkills” on 4th May 2023 from 9.45am to 1.45pm. A total of 64 students, 10 lecturers, 4 speakers including an alumni participated in this event. The objectives of the event are to fill the skills gap of the student community and to guide in preparing jobs and placements. Dr. Amal Bati Said Al-Abri, Head of IT Department inaugurated the event and presented the warm greetings and importance of the event to the student participants. Mr. Ahmed Said Sulaiman Al Gharibi, Alumni of the IT Department was the chief guest. His esteemed presence gave a good confidence on student participants to target their life goals. The first speaker, Dr. Wilfred Blessing N.R, Lecturer of IT presented a motivational session in two tracks. In the first track, the speaker explained the worth of “Self-Confidence” and its types. He focused and presented the tips to improve the optimal-type of self-confidence by targeting the student’s competence and preparation skills. In the second track, the speaker presented the “Role of Linkedin in Jobs Search” which is a professional social network to connect researchers, recruiters and trainers.
The second speaker, Mr. Junath Nasser, Lecturer of IT provided us with practical tips and insights on how to navigate the job market and develop essential soft skills for success in the workplace. He shared useful techniques for crafting a strong resume, preparing for an interview, and networking effectively. Additionally, the speaker emphasized the importance of developing emotional intelligence, communication skills, and problem-solving abilities to thrive in today's competitive job market.
The third speaker is, Mr. Ahmed Said Sulaiman Al Gharibi, Asset Controller (P&E), Special Technical Services Company, Muscat. He presented his job experiences with the students and explored the skills requirement for the job placements. He also shared the expectations of the employers. Finally, he presented his CV as a model and explained the strengths and things to focus. All the student participants worth fully interacted with the Alumni guest. The fourth speaker Ms. Sara Said Obaid Al Shukaili presented the CV writing tips. A sample resume was also presented for the knowledge of students. Particularly she presented the tips on how to write a resume. It includes, tailoring students resume, resume styles and sections, things to do before submitting the resume and ATS (Applicant Tracking System) algorithms - streamlining and bringing efficiency to hiring process, and top tips on how to prepare for the interview. As a final session, mock interviews were conducted by considering the requirement of Software Engineers/Developers for an IT firm. The mock interview panel was led by Mr. Abdullah Mubarak Mussabah Al Shukeily and Ms. Fatma Said Hamed Al Shamli. Mr. Ahmed Said Sulaiman Al Gharibi, Dr. Wilfred Blessing N.R, Mr. Junath Nasser, Ms. Sara Said Obaid Al Shukaili acted as members of the panel. All the students were accepted to watch the interview session. The student participants were able to identify the strengths and weaknesses through the mock interviews. Students participated and enjoyed the sessions with great interest.
The memento for the chief guest was presented by the HOS of IT Section Ms. Fatma Said Hamed Al Shamli. HOS of Math Section Dr. Pugalarasu Rajan graced at the inaugural event. The master of ceremony was presented by student Malaak Abdullah Mohammed Al Luwaihi. Welcome note was presented by Diploma student Lubna Humaid Rashid Al Shabanoti and vote of thanks message was presented by student Aicha Said Abdullah Al Zidi. This event was organized under the chairmanship of Dr. Amal Bati Said Al-Abri, HOD of IT Department and harmonized by Dr. Wilfred Blessing N.R, Lecturer of IT Department with the effective collaboration of OJT Committee, IT Society and ACM Student Chapter.
UTAS –Ibri has always been at the forefront in facilitating students to ace IELTS. In response to the requests from the IELTS aspirants, The English Language Centre of UTAS, Ibri, conducted three Online IELTS preparation courses in January and February of 2023 for 150 students who attended the sessions.
Experienced teachers conducted the sessions and drew the students' attention to the areas needing improvement. The teachers who taught the four skills were Fazilat Jahan, Miriam Cordova, Humaid Al Mamari, Amal Ashour, Nusaibya Al Ghafri, Mohsin Amiri and Sharon Devaneson.
Many aspirants could successfully clear the series of mock tests conducted during the sessions. A Needs Analysis questionnaire helped the teachers to identify the focus areas and was a ready reckoner for them to customize the activities to introduce tips and strategies to enhance four skills.
Here are the experiences of the teachers.
Teaching IELTS listening was an excellent experience for Humaid Al Mamari. He concentrated on four types of questions and offered some advice. He enjoyed seeing how the students responded and interacted with one another. The students were incredibly keen to take part. Nusaiba Al Ghafri led the IELTS speaking session, which included brief grammar and vocabulary lectures to increase the student's capacity for getting a higher speaking skill score. Applications and websites like Itolki and Discord were shared during the class as a reference and learning aid for learning English. In break-out rooms with Teams, Part 1 also practised in a peer-to-peer setting before being done with everyone.
Sharon Devaneson stressed that students first need to understand the IELTS marking criteria for writing and speaking. Then, the students can find out what they need to work on according to their desired score band.
The online IELTS courses received excellent feedback from students, with some preferring face-to-face classes. It was a good experience for both students and teachers as the number of IELTS aspirants increased and the continued request for IELTS mock sessions indicated the success of the programme.
