The Students’ Activities Committee conducted three Final Exam Writing workshops for level 4 and 2 students before final exams in the first semester.
As per the request of level 4 students, Dr Mohsen was assigned to organize the level 4 Writing workshops for the final exam revision by the ELC management. The first session was on December 20, 2022 (in class) and the second session was on January 1, 2023 (online).
The third Writing Revision conducted by Ms. Lubna on January 2, 2023, through Teams. She explained the important points of Writing Tasks. More than 55 students attended the session.
The Staff Development Committee of Engineering Department organized a webinar program on “Formability Enhancement techniques for Lightweight Metallic Sheets” on 29th December 2022, Thursday from 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM through MS Teams. The program session was addressed by Dr. Sudhy S. Panicker, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, Goa, India.
The targeted audience for the program were faculty members of Engineering Department. He started his presentation with a welcome address note on Metal Processing/Manufacturing Processes. Then he started explaining about the sheet metal basic operations and further elaborated the presentation on sheet metal forming processes. Also, discussed on the formability of sheet metals, Forming Limit Diagram, Limiting Dome Height Test and Factors affecting formability. He finally concluded with a various challenge on sheet metal forming. It was a very useful presentation on sheet metal works for all the faculty members of engineering department. The session was interactive and useful.
The IT Department through its Public Relations Marketing Committee (PRMC) conducted an event entitled, “An introduction to C#.NET programming” to all the students of UTAS-Ibri in 20 December 2022. Mr. Shaik Asif, an IT Lecturer at UTAS-Ibri conducted the event and he started by introducing to students the history of C#.NET programming and how it was evolved by following its predecessor languages. Moreover, the speaker spoke on how the different programming languages like Pascal, C, C++, Java were introduced to the world and subsequently how it had been led to eventually to develop C#.NET programming by Microsoft Company. Novel concepts in C#: operator overloading, managed code , unmanaged code and logical implications were discussed. The speaker explained to the students the uses, features of C# programming language. The .NET architecture was also explained during the session. Finally, a practical activity was conducted using Visual Studio 2022 to demonstrate to the students about console and desktop programming using C#. Towards the end of the session, a feedback was taken from the participants, and as a result, 4.7 rating was given by the students on a scale of 1-5 where 5 is the highest.
Academic Year 2022 was a happening year for the ELC Professional Development Committee UTAS –Ibri and the semester ended on a positive note. The kaleidoscopic view of the PD Committee’s achievements deserved the attention of the English teachers from across the world. The head of the PD Committee Mr. Faisal Al Shamali showcased his commitment and dedication and contributed immensely to the ELC PD activities. The committee invited international guest speakers, hosted more than 10 webinars, six in-person sessions, TEST Proposal Program and Global ELT Seminars. The sessions were attended by more than 250 national and international attendees from twenty countries. The takeaways were meaningful and productive. The committee also offered its services to the department of Business Studies too. It also shared international conferences with Qatar, Tunisia, etc. with ELC staff and facilitated the British Council in sharing the free training courses with the ELC staff. On behalf of the PD committee Mr. Faisal Al Shamali thanked the ELC management for its perpetual support, ETC for continuous work, ELC Media for documenting activities through reports, the entire team of SPD for understanding and cooperation, and national and international participants for spreading the word to the world.
The IT Department of College of Computing and Information Sciences affiliated to the University of Technology and Applied Sciences-Ibri (UTAS-Ibri) in association with UTAS-Ibri ACM Student Chapter successfully organized an international technical meetup with IT experts who are working on financial technologies (FinTech projects). The event was conducted in an online mode (MS Teams), as an interactive session on the real ecosystem of software firms. The event was held on December 13, 2022 from 12.00 pm to 2.00 pm. A total of 373 participated the said event including students, teachers, and industrial experts from more than 20 different organizations and universities inside and outside Oman.
Lubna Humaid Rashid Al Shabanoti, the student host presented the theme and objectives of the event. In her introduction, she stated that “In everyone’s life, there should be a “Turning Point” for reaching success. We, the students are looking for a Turning point, Motivation and Technical Awareness. Yes, that is “FinTech and Startup”. This technical meetup is going to motivate us and hoping to inspire us for the successful career in financial technologies and startups. The main objectives of this session are: to provide technical insights on financial technologies; to provide motivation on IT startups and entrepreneurship; to build partnerships with industrial experts and alumni of UTAS; and also to associate with international professional body ACM - Association of Computing Machinery.
Dr. Wilfred Blessing N.R, the event coordinator and lecturer of IT department welcomed all guests and participants for the technical meetup themed “FinTech and Startup”. He mentioned that, “it is a great day for students and community to inspire, learn and innovate FinTech projects. This technical meetup will help the students in innovating new ideas through their projects that would be beneficial for financial organizations and groups”.
Issa Juma Musabah Al-Yahyaai, student representative introduced the guest speakers. He explored the achievements and FinTech project experiences of the guest speakers.
Speaker 1: Topic: FinTech Awareness Ms. Anood Mohammed Al Maqrashi, (Analyst / Programmer, CRM Division, Bank Dhofar, Muscat and Alumni of UTAS-Ibri) was the first speaker. She stated that, FinTech is largely changing economy around the world. Fintech is referring to software, mobile application and other technologies created to improve and automate traditional forms of finance for businesses. She said, “FinTech simplifies financials transactions for customers and businesses making them accessible and generally more affordable. It can also apply to companies and services utilizing Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and encrypting blockchain technology to facilitate highly secure transactions”. Then she focused on how safe is FinTech. Finally, the speaker gave awareness about the IT technologies that offer services to financial sector. She elaborated the advantages of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, Open source, SaaS (Software as a Service), No-code and Low-code, and Hyper automation.
Speaker 2: Topic: FinTech Projects Ms. Anie Malar (Senior Product Analyst, Juspay Technologies, Bangalore, India). She started with the idea of explaining what is Problem in an IT Project and how to solve the same. She presented few practical examples of FinTech projects including ticket booking application and payments application. This motivated the student community to focus FinTech for their course project developments. The flow of OTP (one-time password) reading demonstration was impressive. Then, she shared her industrial experiences on “Product Thinking, Problem, User Journey”. Finally, the speaker explored the projects awareness on P2P payment solution/ Peer to Peer solution, Saving Investment, Lending/Loan Apps, Mobile banking Apps and Digital wallets.
Speaker 3: Topic: FinTech Startups Mr. Arun Rajeev (Founder & CEO, FinOS, UAE) He started his presentation by explaining the success metric of a startup company and the ways to build a successful startup. He said, “Fintech is delivering financial services through technology. Financial institutions and banks enable saving account to have loans, deposit savings, fixed deposits and insurance”. He shared few examples by saying, “Apps for transactions and payments modes are developed by using the latest technologies block chain, machine learning and artificial intelligence”. He added, “these technologies are also supporting in establishing businesses and that shows an exponential growth within few years of time”. In his final sharing, the speaker said, “Team Work is important for a company’s growth. Students can run the company with the qualities great business model and funding support”. He also praised the Oman funding agencies and organizations whom provides funding supports for the projects and startups to young entrepreneurs. He concluded by saying, “most successful companies have wonderful timing. Time is necessary for the good growth of company”. He wished all the students and participants with his clear guidance and greetings.
Later, the participants have shown interest during the brainstorming session with the speakers.
Finally, Anwar Humaid Hamed Al Shamali, (Student Chair, UTAS Ibri ACM Student Chapter) thanked all the participants who joined from various institutions and universities inside and outside Oman. He also thanked the University management, the Chairman of the event and Head of IT Department Dr. Amal Bati Said Al Abri, Head of IT Section Ms. Fatima Said Al Shamli, DC members, Industrial experts, Alumni of UTAS-Ibri, lecturers and the organizers of the event. He extended his thanks to coordinators and members of UTAS-Ibri ACM Student Chapter, IT Society, OJT committee, Staff Development Committee and Research and Consultancy Committee.
The event was organized under the chairmanship of Head of IT Department and officer of ACM student chapter Dr. Amal Bati Said Al Abri. This meetup was coordinated by Dr. Wilfred Blessing N.R (Lecturer, IT). This online technical meetup was well collaborated by OJT committee, IT Society, Staff Development Committee, Research and Consultancy Committee and UTAS-Ibri ACM Student Chapter. The participants gave remarkable feedback for this event. The feedback score is 4.5 out of 5.
The Students’ Activities Committee, a launching pad for students in the ELC, paid a visit to the CPS ( The Centre for Ppreparatory Studies) at the Sultan Qaboos University on December 13, 2022. The aim of the visit was to represent the English Society at UTAS-Ibri to have academic collaboration with the CPS Extracurricular Activities Center. During the visit, the team members of the English Society impressed the CPS with their outstanding presentations and wide range of activities. Moreover, During the visit Dr Mohsen gave a presentation on "Interpersonal Skills and Personality Development" to the students of the CPS. Overall, the visit was highly fruitful and constructive for both institutes based on the feedback received from the SQU (CPS).
The level -2 of foundation programme students visited Ibri-CAS on 13.11.2022 to have a friendly exchange and strengthen their relationship with the CAS students. The event was organized by the level-two coordinator, Mr Khalid Humaid Masoud Al Gharibi. The visit was arranged in Almsrat Hall for a healthy exchange among students of two colleges. It also helped the students to understand various events and activities conducted for and by the students to enhance communication skills. The students expressed their excitement over the visit.
The Foundation students of Level 2 exhibited their skills on the cultural day that was hosted on 28.11.2022 in the shaded area of the ELC building and some the classrooms. The main objective of this event was encourage students to be confident and motivated enough to demonstrate their people handling and communication skills. The students hosted the event under the guidance of level-two coordinator Mr Khalid Humaid Masoud Al Garibi. The aesthetically decorated stalls added glamour to the event. The ELC Management and other teachers visited every stall displayed and appreciated the efforts of the students. The ELC staff of UTAS-CAS paid a visit and lauded the efforts of the teachers and students who hosted the event. There were some one-minute games and activities to entertain the visitors. The positive vibes instilled life into the day and the colourful event was a feast to the eyes of the visitors.
The Staff Development Committee of Engineering Department organized a webinar program on “Applications of Artificial Intelligence in the Energy, Environment, and Healthcare Sectors: A SDG Perspective” on 15th December 2022, Thursday from 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM through MS Teams. The program was delivered by Dr. Umashankar subramaniam, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The targeted audience for the program were faculty members of Engineering Department. He started his presentation with the fundamental concept of Artificial Intelligence. Then he started explaining about the role of Artificial Intelligence in the Energy, Environment and Health Care Sector. further elaborated the presentation A SDG Perspective. Also, discussed the research possibilities in AI in various sectors. It was a useful presentation for all the faculty members of engineering department. Also, the session was interactive and useful.
On 6th of December 2022, 21 students of Bachelor Electrical Engineering along with two lecturers (Mr Chandra Sekhara B.L and Mr Reddy Ganesh) and one technician (Hamed Saud Hamed Al khalili) of University of Technology and Applied sciences-Ibri visited the NOMAC Power Pant which is located in Ibri. The main aim of the industrial visit was to provide exposure to students about the practical working environment.
The purpose of this Industrial visit was to provide an excellent opportunity to electrical engineering students to interact and know more about industrial environment. The intention was to help the students to get practical knowledge.
Visit started with a security rules and explained safety measures and rules to be followed in the plant at all times. All students visited to each section of power plant like gas turbines, generators, boilers, condensers, step up and step down transformers and protection systems followed in plant.
The team members also explained in detail about:
- bus bars
- excitation systems for diesel generators
- control panel
- UPS system for internal power plant operation
- control and operations of the plant through SCADA.
During the session, the students interacted with all team members of the company very effectively. All the students expressed their thanks to the officials of the company for the opportunity given. This visit was highly useful for the students to enhance their knowledge in areas such as Electrical Machines and its control, Power Generation, Protection and Grid connection and its control.
We express our sincere thanks to the Administration of NOMAC, Dean, Head of the Engineering Department, and the Head of Electrical & Electronics Section of UTAS, Ibri for their unwavering encouragement and support.
We would like to thank NOMAC team members, Mr.Ahmed hamed Al kalbani, Mr.Ahmed Khamis Al Hinaai, Ms Asma Saif Al majarfi, Mr.Azan Salim Alsuwafi for valuable guidance during the industrial visit.
