ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN · 2019. 7. 29. · Dr. Saleh Al Khusaiby is the Dean. 3. College of Pharmacy: The college has academic affiliations with the West Virginia University to run the

National University of Science and Technology

Sultanate of Oman

E N V I R O N M E N T A L S C A N

Developed in response to the

requirements of the Strategic Planning project

for the period 2019-24

Authored by:

Committee for Environmental Scan,

NU Campuses and Constituent Units.

March 2019

Mubarak Pasha/Environmental Scan/Preliminary Draft/Private Document 2

CONTENTS

1. Prologue

2. The Profile

3. External Environment

4. Internal Environment (SWOT by respective Institution/Units)


Prologue:

In response the decision of the National University of the Science and Technology

Executive Board, the Vice Chancellor ordered the initiation of intuitional

endeavors to draw up a comprehensive strategic plan for the National University

for the period 2019-24. Consequently a strategic planning project committee has

been formed with well-defined terms of reference including the mandate to

develop the environmental scanning report. The committee, after having

consultation with the university governance, prescribed a procedure to discern the

macro and micro indicators of the NU environmental scan. Implementation of the

said procedures resulted in the environmental scan report. Faculty and staff

representatives of all the constituent units were involved in the task and their

whole hearted cooperation shaped the content of the report.

The committee would like to record their deep indebtedness to the Vice

Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Chief Finance Officer, Assistance Vice

Chancellor, The Deans, The Faculty, and the staff of the NU fraternity for their

input in developing this document.

Regards,

Mubarak Pasha P. M.

For strategic planning project committee


ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN

The Scope:

The process and procedures deployed in the task, environmental scan, run on the common sense

view that the environmental scan is a process of gathering, analyzing and dispensing

information for technical and strategical purposes. It helps obtaining factual information and

sometimes subjective views on the environment in which the institution operates. Therefore, it

can give clue to the institutional dreams and plans particularly as to how should it go about

further. Conceptually the document portrays both internal and external factors that constitute

institutional environment.

The Methodology:

There are quite a few number of methodologies in place to discern factors that span the

framework of an environmental scanning exercise. The present enquiry draws heavily on the

conventional SWOT analysis method. It runs this way: an intuitional introspection of each

domain deployed through a selected group of faculty and staff of each constituent unit. This

method resulted in a considerable amount of information that needed to be examined through

and it may surface the major indicators. The data derived thus was scrutinized by the respective

committee of each constituent unit in the presence of the representatives of the strategic

planning project committee. Prediction for opportunities, by their very nature, involved a large

margin of uncertainty and therefore they are likely to change with time, although these may

remain as externally generated assumptions.

The Profile:

The National University

The National University of Science and Technology is established vide Ministerial Decision

no. 19/2018 through a confluence of two premier institutions in the country, Oman Medical

College and Caledonian College of Engineering. Broadly it covers three vital faculties viz.

Engineering, Medicine and Pharmacy. It is headquartered in the Boushar Campus and as of

now has four independent campuses designated for exclusive academic programs approved by

the ministry of higher education. The following are the campuses.


1. College of Engineering, Al Hail.

2. College of Medicine, Sohar.

3. College of Pharmacy, Baushar.

4. School of Foundation Studies, Airport Heights.

The Governance:

The governance of NU complies with the National Framework and it follows the structure

given below.

1. Board of Directors – It represents the ownership of all endeavors carried out in the

name of National University.

2. Board of Trustees – It is the prime platform for planning, operations and supervision.

It has representatives from different parts of the world with great expertise in

academics, or industry or business.

3. University Executive Board – It is a derived entity constituted with delegated

authority from the board of directors. Their resolutions have concurrences from the

board of directors.

The following are the functionaries of the University Governance:

1. Chancellor – Sheikh Salim Al Fannah Al Araimi

2. Pro Chancellor – Dr. P. Mohamed Ali

3. Vice Chancellor – Dr. Simon Jones

4. Deputy Vice Chancellor – Dr. Salim Al Araimi

5. Chief Finance Officer – Prof. M. P. Nair

6. Assistant Vice Chancellor – Mr. Nizamuddin Ahmed

All these offices are housed in the headquarter, Boushar and they operate as per the National

Framework for the university governance.

The Constituent Colleges:

1. College of Engineering: It is the first accredited college in the country and has academic

programs for the undergraduate and graduate level titles. Dr. Ahmed Al Balushi is the

Dean.


2. College of Medicine: The only private medical college in the country. It provides

academic instructions leading to MD in affiliation with the West Virginia University.

Dr. Saleh Al Khusaiby is the Dean.

3. College of Pharmacy: The college has academic affiliations with the West Virginia

University to run the B.Pharm Program. Dr. Yaseen Al Lawatia is the acting Dean.

4. School of Foundation Studies: All students enrolled for admission to the University

System undergo a preparatory program in basic disciplines known as the foundation

program. Dr. Yaseen Al Lawatia is the Dean.

The Constituent Units:

The University operates through well-structured directorate headquartered in the main campus.

They report to related functionaries in the University System and they coordinate with the

administrative units of the constituent colleges. The following are the directorates.

1. HR & Finance

2. Institutional Planning

3. Quality

4. Training

5. Information Technology

6. Student Support Services

7. Library

Demographic Profile:

A. Students – Majority are Omanis and the ministry of higher education sponsors Omani

Students for different programs. On average more than 90% of the Omani student

population are sponsored by the Ministry through complete coverage of tuition fee. The

expatriate students and a few international students are enrolled across the campuses

create cultural diversity in the profile. More than 30 nationalities have share in the

student profile.

B. Faculty and staff – The faculty composition have visible diversity sourced from more

than 20 countries, although majority of them are from India. They are qualified and


competent as the rules of the university for recruitment have strict compliance with the

quality parameters.

External Determinants

A. The country – The Sultanate of Oman is an Arab state in south west Asia on the coast

of Arabian Peninsula with a strategic position on the Persian Gulf. It is considered to

be one of the safest destination for employment and tourism as per the 2018 Global

Competitiveness Report released by the World Economic Forum. The country has been

growing steadily under the wise leadership of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said and

there has been tremendous development in the quality of civic life across the country.

The modern sultanate has diversified sectors in economy and the development index

matches with other major developing countries.

Major indicator – A safe destination to grow, expand, and sustain

B. The Demography – According to latest statistics of NCSI, Oman has a population of

4.6 million, 122nd in the world out of which 2 million are expatriates (43%). The

estimated population of 4.6 million is a sharp increase over the 2010 census of 2.77

million. Oman is a high fertility country and is passing through the early stages of

demographic transition. High fertility does not look a problem for Oman as it needs

more manpower for its future expansion and development. The following table shows

a prediction in demographic indicators for 2023 against the figures of 2010.

Oman Population 2010 2023

Total Population of Omanis 1.95 million 3.19 million

Population – Female 955,500 1.57 million

Population – Male 994,500 1.62 million

Age 0-14 (Children) 27.8% (542,100) 36.92% (1,177,748)

Age 15-64 (Adult) 69.5% (1,355,250) 59.8% (1,907,620)

Age 65 and Above (Old People) 2.7% (52,650) 3.28% (104,632)

Major indicators:

1. Category of children gets a significantly higher value denoting greater

potential for higher education exercise in the next decade.


2. Category of adults is likely to register an impressive jump signifying

tremendous opportunities for adult/continuous education.

3. Category of old people may also go up implying more demand for hospitals

and family care facilities.

Economic Scenario:

Economic strength of the country is derived primarily from its oil resources and therefore Oman

realizes the importance of diversification of economy particularly through enhancing economic

growth in non-oil sectors. Interestingly the government has set an ambitious aim to reduce the

contribution of oil to the economy from 45% to 9% of GDP by 2020.

Planning: Oman undergoes through the 9th five year plan (2016-20) which incidentally

happens to be, the final plan for the current vision of 2020, and it paves the way for the

formulation of the long term vision 2040. The fluctuations in global oil prices and emergence

of a wave of recession in the global economy due to the decline of growth rates in both

advanced and emerging economies were major determinants of the economic growth in the

region particularly in Oman. Consequently, external environment demanded a revisit of the

major indicators for sustainable growth which received great attention in the policy document

of the 2040. It underlines a shift towards diversification of sectors, creation of jobs, fostering

of sources of non-oil fiscal revenues for the state. The national program for enhancing

economic diversification (TANFEEDH) is a rich document for details of potential

manufacturing industries.

The performance of the 8th plan was good despite external unfavorable conditions. It registered

an annual growth rate of 3.7% in the current prices, a lower inflation rate of 1.9% and a

significant growth rate of 7.2% in the non-oil endeavors. Economic diversification activities

were dependent on government expenditure and in non-tradable sectors such as construction,

transport, communication and trade. They did not target production sectors that can contribute

to increasing of exports, and instead focused on low-productivity operations. Therefore,

dependence was primarily on the low-paid expatriate workforce.

The 9th plan targets achievement of an annual growth rate for GDP of around 3%, and annual

inflation rate of 2.9%. It is also expected that the oil share of the total GDP in current prices


with decrease from 44% during 8th Plan to 30% during 9th Plan. The following sectors are

identified to be priority domains for diversification of the economy.

1. Manufacturing

2. Transport and Logistics

3. Tourism

4. Fisheries

5. Mining

9th Plan targets Omanization of Expatiates workforce as technicians, professionals and semi-

skilled laborers. Interestingly these groups constitute 50% of the total expatriates.

Major Indicators:

1. Expected target of replacing 50% of expatriate workforce is a potential factor for

the higher education providers.

2. College of Engineering can revisit its priorities of academic programs against this

background and explore expansion to related disciplines in the manufacturing,

transport and logistics sector and mining.

3. The university can draw-up a detailed plan for improving skill efficiency of Omani

youth.

4. National youth program for skill development has a limited focus on IT related

career opportunities. Their 2 schemes AL NASHIA SCHEME and AL SHABAB

SCHEME have inherent limitations. Its potential to expand to both domains,

education and vocational training need to be explored and the National University


has all reasons to address the challenge through a unique system of community

colleges. Interestingly Oman has not experimented with this idea. A community

college allows a learner to undergo training in a vocational discipline after a

formal education of higher secondary or without a formal certification. It may be

of one or two years which will entitle them to receive a recognized certification

with well-defined credits. In the community college system the learner has

flexibility to either peruse a higher degree or go for employment.

5. Fisheries and marine resources are potential areas for expansion as the country is short

of a comprehensive fisheries education and processing center.

C. Education – The government has devoted significant attention to the development of

educational activities leading to transformation of the Omani human capital. All

through the planning period the education assumed great significance in allocation of

resources, and priority developing. Responding to the need of the time, the government

has opened the door to the private initiatives for establishing educational institutions.

Consequently, there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of schools, colleges,

vocational institutes, and other educational initiatives. According to the latest statistics

the country has registered an impressive increase in the number of the school. The

following table shows the data for the last 5 years specific to the government schools.


Year Number of Schools Number of Students

2013-14 1553 679235

2014-15 1580 701577

2015-16 1647 724395

2016-17 1725 748308

2017-18 1807 770481

D. Similarly, the higher education scenario has also adequate reflections in number of

the students and many institutions have been established in response to the growing

needs. The following table portrays levels of enrolment of students and subsequent

graduation from schools.

Year

Number of

Enrolled

students

Number of

graduated

students

2013-14 32746 21454

2014-15 34743 19063

2015-16 34043 23830

2016-17 34732 23940

2017-18 35342 23948

E. The higher education scenario is determined by a cohort of universities and

independent colleges in the country. The following table gives the details.

Number of

Universities

9

Number of

Colleges

61

F. The National Summary for Education of 2040 has drawn up a set of strategies for

education with a view to streamline the progress of educational activities in

alignment with national priorities. The following is the diagram summarizing the

gist of the document.


Major indicators

Number of students enrolled are increasing over the period.

Number of drop outs are also increasing over the period.

Improving quality of education is considered to be a major strategic goal.

Research is to be given high priority.

Resource mobilization needs to be placed high in priority.

G. Resources for Education

i. Ministry sponsored students:

The Ministry of Higher Education is the strongest payer of tuition fees for almost all

educational institutions in the country. The Sultanate has shown extra ordinary

dedication in channelizing the resources to train its young citizens for education. The

sponsorship is the pathway for them to reach out the socially eligible potential

applicants. The following table gives the data of Ministry sponsored students.

Course 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19

MD 672 659 694 692 571

Pharmacy 211 233 158 111 96

Engineering 2327/2187 2509/2442 2369/2119 1965/1843 1829/1308


There has been a significant increase in the number of the beneficiaries in the earlier

period. However, recently the number is not getting increased at an increasing rate due

to fiscal control owing to the impact of international economic pressures including

recession. A fall in their number is visible now.

ii. Private students

There is a significant number of private students drawn from the Omani nationals,

expatriates, and international groups who pay directly to the college. However, the

declining trend in the number of expatriates and the impact of Omanization are likely

to impact on the revenue side. The following table gives the data of private students.

Course 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19

MD 213 235 225 231 192

Pharmacy 224 233 218 232 170

Engineering 1437 1363 1156 969 937

Additionally, the latest directives to receive higher fees from the expatriates is likely to

bring down the competitive edge and that may result in a fall of private students

including the expatriates. The latest schedule of fees to be levied from the private

students from the next academic year onwards has an increase of 40% over and above

the normal rate applicable to the sponsored candidates.

Major indicators

High dependency on sponsored candidates is a strategic risk

Higher slab for private medical students may impact on the share

Fall in expatriate number is likely to have adverse impact

Expansion of catchment area to other countries is to be worked out

H. Resources for Research

The resources for research falls under two heads viz. Government and Private. The Government

support comes through The Research Council which has deployed different projects, programs,

and events. Open research grant, strategic research grant, research chair program, renewable

research program, FURAP etc. are the current ongoing initiatives of the council. The other

projects like Oman Animal and Plant Genetic Resources Center (OAPGRC), Innovation Park

Muscat (IPM), Institute of Advanced Technology Integration (IATI), Oman Virtual Science


Library etc. also provide institutional space for further expansion of research capabilities,

although these projects do not generate direct resources to the college. Expanding industrial

zones in the country is a potential area for having a need based research programs for quality

higher education providers in the country. The international pathway for resource mobilization

is also a potential area for enhancing the capabilities of research for which the academic

affiliation with the foreign universities can be of great value.

Major indicators

TRC is open for assistance but a cap for support exists

Expanding industrial zone is a potential area for need based research programs

Collaborative research in association with the academic affiliates and other

premier providers can be explored for international funding

Internal Factors

The internal environment is a controlled reflection on the actuals across the campuses/units

through a structured introspection for SWOT analysis. The narrative recognizes the existence

of two categories of identities in the University framework viz. constituent colleges and

constituent units. The following are the endorsed constituent units attached to the University

framework.

1. HR & Finance


3. Quality

4. Training

5. Information Technology

6. Student Support Services

7. Library


These colleges/units organized an institutional introspection for SWOT and submitted their

findings.


College of Engineering – SWOT

The Dean nominated the following members to complete the SWOT analysis in response to

the request of the Strategic planning project committee.

1. Dr. Venkateswara Sarma Mallela Pedagogy

2. Dr. Senguttuvan

3. Professor S M Rizwan Research, Consultancy, and Training 4. Mr. Mohammed Al Abri

5. Mr. Ibrahim Al Bulushi Community Engagement

6. Ms. Khalda Al Hassani

7. Ms. Sheikha Al Alawi Governance, Growth, and Welfare 8. Mr. Faisal Ahmed Al Abri

The group introspected on the relevant domain and submitted the document to the committee

for further discussions which was chaired by the Dean, Dr. Ahmed Al Bulushi. The initial

document was thoroughly reviewed and a new version was submitted.

Strategic Destination: Pedagogy

Deploy holistic and high quality pedagogy in all academic programs

Developed by: Dr. Venkateswara Sarma Mallela & Dr. Senguttuvan

Strength Description in 1 or 2 lines

Leaders in Engineering

Education 1st private HEI in Oman (CCE), successfully accredited by

OAAA – ISAA, Dec 2016. Out of 09 Standards, emphasis on

Student Learning by Coursework programmes, Student

Learning by Research programmes, Industry and community

engagement are pertinent under pedagogy.

IET accreditation obtained in 2018 (CCE) for 5 years to all

Engineering programmes (BEng) offered under affiliation with

GCU, UK.

Work towards ABET, USA accreditation is initiated.


State of the art Methods in

Teaching and Learning

Collaborative, inclusive, reflective, inquiry based, integrative,

Project based and Problem based Learning (PBL), e-learning,

Case based teaching and learning, Industrial Internship,

Industry visits, and training, guest lectures from local industry,

and from affiliated university, periodical revisions in

curriculum meeting industry needs and socioeconomic

considerations from time to time, use of smart boards,

blackboard, dissemination of best practices, various student

chapter activities, staff development activities like support to

qualification enhancements, workshops, women in Engineering

forums.

Entrepreneurship embedded in

the Curriculum

Core Modules in curriculum, Workshops, competitions, Fairs,

student initiatives supported by faculty in start- ups, and SMEs.

Learning underpinning Research FURAP projects, TRC projects, Level 4 Technical Projects,

Conference and Journal publications, specific projects meeting

community development.

Assessment strategies Online coursework submission and timely feedback,

consideration of academic appeals, internal and external

reviews.

Heterogeneous environment Faculty and students from various countries add value to

pedagogy under multicultural environment.

Weakness Description in 1 or 2 lines

Lower grade student admissions

at entry level.

Attracting students with higher grades at entry level has been

a concern. This imposes certain constraints in achieving par

excellence academic, research, and employability goals.

Absence of IEEE Digital library

and ScienceDirect

College Library and Information center does not have IEEE

digital library, ScienceDirect libraries, which are required for

students’ project/coursework, learning and teaching apart

from scholarly and research activities for both faculty and

students.

Lack of advanced software,

tools, and laboratories.

Lack of availability of specialized licensed software of

industry class, and tools imposes constraints in the pedagogy.

Lack of well-equipped, smart

nature large size lecture theatres.

Well-equipped large size lecture theatres (multipurpose) are

needed for delivery of lectures to handle students of class size

of 100-125, particularly in the context of NU.


Congestion of faculty office

rooms, and lack of academic

lounges.

Current layout of faculty office rooms is highly congested

and does not provide conducive environment for

discussions/counseling students, and for faculty academic

preparations.

Lack of availability of free hours

during teaching weeks to

academic staff

With the present teaching load, and faculty time spent on

academic administration activities, faculty members do not

get adequate time for preparation of lectures and to take active

part in scholarly activities.

Opportunity Description in 1 or 2 lines

Commencing new UG/PG

programmes which are unique

and not offered elsewhere in

other HEI’s/Universities in the

country

Relevant New programmes to be identified through surveys

and other means in line with national strategy for education

2040 (Oman) including multidisciplinary nature. Such

programmes will enhance the state of the art resources and

methods in Teaching and learning.

Offering Doctoral programmes

(Ph.D), and diversify scholarly

activities.

Commencement of Doctoral Programmes would attract Full

Time /Part Time Research scholars, enhance funded research

projects, which would also augment teaching and learning.

Full Time Research scholars can be involved in teaching &

learning.

Revisit Assessments to test skill

based learning

Develop appropriate assessment methods to quantify the level

of skills achieved for specific learning outcomes, with special

reference to ABET requirements.

Use of smart technologies in

Learning &Teaching

Remote laboratories (web operated and controlled), virtual

learning (VLE), Learning Management System (LMS),

increased usage of smart boards in all lecture halls will

enhance pedagogy at UG, PG, and Doctoral level studies.

Creation of Education

Technology centre / Centre for

Engineering Education as an

approach towards capacity

building.

Education Technology centre / Centre for Engineering

Education facilitates training, and development of skills

required to faculty & students for enhancement of

pedagogical competence. This accelerates to achieve

omanisation target in academics.

Sabbatical tenures on staff

exchange basis for college

faculty and industry persons

Invite Engineers and Managers from Industry to teach on

tenure basis, depute teaching faculty to work in industry on

tenure basis, create Chairs for technologies including learning

& teaching.

Focused academic interaction

with other Universities/HEIs

To create more awareness, benchmarking, provide equal

opportunity for knowledge sharing. Utilizing talent existing

within the country, and outside will enhance pedagogy.


Threat Description in 1 or 2 lines

Competition from other local

universities/HEI’s

With increase in number of private universities and HEI’s,

need to withstand such stiff competition exists in terms of

attracting better students, resources/ methods in learning &

teaching, and faculty training in pedagogy.

Declining student admissions in

terms of numbers.

Declining trend in number of students admitted is observed

during the past couple of years. This trend imposes a major

threat in the long term.

Less number of job opportunities

for Graduates

The present situation on number of job opportunities and

graduates employability in the country/region is not

encouraging. If this trend of unemployment continues, it

will pose severe threat to the college existence.

Staff attrition Staff attrition rate becomes a threat in case of staff well

qualified, and talented in the consistent delivery of pedagogy.

Replacement of staff, Training a new staff may take longer

time, which would impact learning and teaching.

Lack of automated integration of

assessment compilation on a

central data base

The current system has built-in human interface which causes

delays in declaration of results. This imposes constraints in

graduation, employability and admissions.

Strategic Destination: Research, Consultancy, and Training


Developed by: Prof. S. M. Rizwan & Mr. Mohammed Al Abri


Experienced Staff We do have the experienced research staff with proven

track record of working on various funded projects by

industries and TRC in line with vision 2040 on

renewable energy, Red Palm Weevils, Applied research

closely related to industry

Qualification We Do have staff with strong educational background of

PhD qualifications leading the various core research

groups in the area of expertise, and providing

supervision to many staff working in CoE

Existing infrastructure,

Laboratories and equipment’s

Well established Centre for Research and Innovation

with labs in the area of expertise (Waste to Energy

lab, Solar Water research lab) and equipment’s in place

Staff Development Support Do have a well-established staff development support

to staff for attending conference, pursuing PhD,

improving qualifications, relevant courses

Team work Spirit Ability to work in team (Team Projects)


MOUs Research MoUs in place with various

Universities / Institutions

Caledonian Centre for

Creativity & Innovation

Caledonian Centre for Creativity and Innovation playing

role to create the spirit of innovation, creativity and

entrepreneurship among staff and students.

Staff KPIs Research is given importance and is one of the Key

Performance indicator of staff performance

External and Internal research

funding resources

Provision of funding support by TRC and internal

research funds availability for staff to encourage applied

research


Weak Research Staffing Weak research staffing in the area of renewable

energy, Red Palm Weevils, applied Research closely

related to industries (in line with national vision

2040)

Lack of Research facilities Weak infrastructural facilities and labs

More teaching hours with

research staff

Teaching hours are on higher side which limits the

staff research

Absence of

Research/Doctoral hub

Research hub to be initiated to support PhD

registrations within University

Lack of commitment Lack of commitment with the staff already availed staff

development for upgrading qualification and earned

PhD degree, to further contribute

Lack of Research events Absence of Research Conferences / Workshops /

Seminars keeping us away from research interaction

platform at international level

Staff Retrenchment We have lost many of our research staff got trained

and worked on major research projects (need

careful analysis for cost cutting areas)

No provision of

Sabbaticals

No Provision for sabbaticals for Postdoc’s and research

strengthening in the area of expertise, both way

(industry and Academia)

Shortage of Online database/

Journals

Library is not well equipped and there is a shortage of

Online database/Journals; SCOPUS/WoS database

subscription



Strengthening Database/Journals Subscriptions for database/Journals

Industry links Strengthening industry links to understand their real

challenges and requirements

Utilizing the local facilities Can utilize the local facilities with

Universities/institutions in terms of expertise /

equipment's / lab facilities

Vision 2040 Aligning all our research focus in the area or

requirement (Vision 2040)

Funding opportunities Grabbing funds through projects from TRC MEDRC,

Tatawwar in water research etc. to strengthen the

facilities at NU and capacity building

Research Consortium Consortium of Universities / Research groups with

the objective of participating in a common research

interests

Center of Excellence In the area of renewable Energy, applied research to

industries around

Research Chairs opportunities Research Chair opportunities utilizing TRC

funding in the area of strength

Having a Research / Doctoral

Hub

This could be a good initiative for PhD / Post docs

opportunities at NU

Strengthening Relevant MoUs MoUs with universities pioneer in renewable

energy, and industrial research

International Conferences Holding research events on annual basis at least

Networking (within the colleges

of NU and other Universities)

Better networking within university/Other

Universities and industries through societies/

interaction groups / relevant committees

Partner University Availing the research capabilities of the partner

Universities in submitting proposals and training

Initiating College of

Sciences at NU

Initiating college of Sciences at NU to strengthen the

basic and applied sciences research in time to come

Research Journal To initiate Research Journal of the University

Staff motivation Scheme A good opportunity to motivate staff towards

research through promotions, increments,

appreciations, honor/awards etc.


Threats Description in 1 or 2 lines

Competition with local and

International Institution

Research competitiveness with other Universities in

terms of better research staff, better facilities, better

policies

Might face Shortage of

Research Funding

Shortage of funds with the funding agencies like TRC,

MEDRC, internal funding support crisis

Expert Staff retention challenges Frequent expert staff movement to other

Universities/Colleges due to lack of job satisfaction

Obsolescence in our ongoing or

future research planning

Our Research not relevant to industries

or focus area of the country

Shift or Change in research

focus of the country

Might change the focus area or diversification in

research focus of the Country

Regulation Change in Country’s regulation for

procuring research chemicals / equipment’s

Technology diversification or

Advancement

Might face a shift in technological

development/advancement/diversification which NU

might not catch up with the challenges


Strategic Destination: Community Engagement

Recognize and strengthen institutional bandwidth for deep and

visible community engagement

Developed by: Mr. Ibrahim Al Bulushi & Ms. Khalda Al Hassani


Plenty of CE initiatives Such as: Artal initiatives, Under Your Protection, green

initiatives, charity events, photography

The Expertise The college has long journey of performing CE

initiatives by staff and students

Excellent Relationship With other community organizations

Serving local community Providing free spaces and services for civil Organizations

Visiting educational

institutions

Various visits to educational institutions and by these

educational institutions to the college to discover the

available facilities and available programmes.

Running summer school for

three times

Free summer course for students who completed the

General Education Diploma


Designated team There is no designated team to work only for

community engagement activities and no dedicated

department

Funding Lack of sufficient budget funding for CE activities

Lack of innovative CE activities All activities were traditional in their nature


Easier Collaboration With other organization after getting the university

status with better utilization of resources from the

various colleges.

More scope of activities In relevance to: environment, training youth, social

activities, youth empowerment due to NUST

Excellent student`s clubs Can play a crucial role in running and managing CE

activities



Lack of Funding Can then lead to discontinuation of CE activities

Non-Availability of people As members of staff are committed to other

teaching/administrative activities

Lots of initiatives in the country

that relevance to CE

Therefore, the NU has to be unique with its initiatives

Graduation of active students Then some of the activities may discontinue

Demotivated staff Demotivated staff may not continue volunteering for

CE activities

Strategic Destination: Governance, Growth, and Welfare

Shape a trajectory of growth through a positive governance to make

the National University, Bigger, Bolder, and Better.

Developed by: Ms. Sheikha Al Alawi & Mr. Faisal Ahmed Al Abri

Strength Description

NU Mission, Vision & Values Confirmed NU Mission, Vision & Values from which

college specific mission and values can be drawn.

Qualified and experienced personnel at

governance & management level

College has qualified staff with more than 20 years of

experience at the governance & management level.

Comprehensive and well-defined QMS Currently at College of Engineering:

Key aspect of QMS being well-defined governance structure with specified roles and responsibilities of

college executives.

Well-defined academic quality structure including ToR of committees and flow of reporting.

Well-defined policy management framework with clear flow of a collaborative decision making system

involving all stake holder inputs.

Well-defined document approval process (policies, regulations, guidelines, procedures)

Commended communication mechanisms

Experienced staff in accreditation,

validation/review & Program development

process

The college management & staff has experience in the

following process:

accreditation

validation/review

Program development & management


OAAA accreditation The college got the OAAA accreditation in 2017 and

became the first Engineering college to be fully

accredited by OAAA in Oman.

Expansion management through international

and national affiliation

College has affiliation with renowned universities as

GCU and USC which has a great affect in the expansion

of the College in terms of:

program portfolio,

research activities,

Continues Professional Development areas

international perspective & regional recognition

Experience in designing and managing new

academic programs.

The College has experienced program development and

design teams to cater to expansion of program portfolio

in line with country’s requirements.

Academic departments are experienced in managing

programs efficiently.

Highly motivated and collaborative team

spirit College of Engineering (CE) working environment is

distinctive with motivated team spirit and always

ready to take up challenging tasks for betterment of

quality and standards.

Ready staff to walk extra miles for higher goals

International recognition and accreditation by

various professional national & International

bodies such as: IET & CIOB

Different programs in CE got accredited & recognition

by various professional International bodies, for example

IET accredited programs

CIOB accreditation

All new programs under NU are ABET compliant aiming

to get accredited by ABET

Awards won at national & international level College of engineering has won various prizes & awards

in different domains and scopes such as: Research,

project competition & different national/regional level

programs.

Committed management towards continuous

infrastructure development for supporting the

core business

The college has witnessed continuous infrastructure

development in phased manner with expansion of built

area, exclusive laboratory block (CRI) for supporting

research and academic programmes.

Good track records of college of engineering College of engineering has a good track records and

reputation.


Weakness Description

Becoming part of the National University Because of the current uncertain situation the normal working environment has been affected. The belief of

becoming University for overall improvement and

wellbeing of staff and students is starting to diminish

among staff members. (disappointment)

If this situation continuous, it will lead to a critical weak area because of low staff morale.

Introduction of traditional rather than

innovative management system The current “Centralization” system followed is

supposed to be very old in terms of business studies.

Might not work for long due to the complex working nature of NU colleges.

Operations and systems involved in maintaining and managing 21 programs is definitely different from

managing one program.

Multi campus NU requires innovative and flexible (transformational) management approach

College level operations along with budgetary provisions should be entrusted to College

Management.

Bureaucratic governance Centralized management model brings lots of disadvantages to the institutions

Decisions made without involvement and inputs from all key stakeholders will create unhealthy working

environment.

Unhealthy working environment will hinder NU to achieve its ultimate goals

Lack of proper effective communication among NU & colleges level management in term of policies

development.

Non-receptive governance

Lengthy decision making process with

various level of approvals. This will ultimately lead to delay in releasing and

communicating key aspects of the decisions.

Timely communication of decisions made to all stakeholders is very important aspect for good

management

Lengthy purchasing / procurement process. Lengthy purchasing / procurement process delay the

working process & effect the outcome.

This has a number of serious implications on the

operations of the NU campuses.


Lack in well-defined roles, responsibilities

and authorities of governance (not sure who is

in-charge of what )

Lack of well-defined roles responsibilities & authorities of governance causing ambiguity in who is

in-charge of what.

Will delay the execution process

Lack of transparency Lack of transparency has a damaging effect in the

colleges & the university

Lack of trust and confidence Absence of trust and confidence between the NU management and the college management.

NU is resulted from merger of 2 successfully running colleges and hence good level of trust should be

maintained between NU and College management.

College management should be delegated authorities with budgetary provisions overseen by NU

Executives.

Lack of recognition of good practices Lots of good practices have been developed over years

by the colleges. NU should take advantages of such

practices and build on what has been achieved and

developed.

Encouraging office politics Encouraging office politics which effect the working

environment and definitely the outcome.

The current nature of fishing into weaknesses of college

operations should be discouraged as this will lead to

demotivating staff who have worked for the betterment

of each college. The focus rather should be on

improvement of practices and procedures.

Inappropriate reallocation of Human

resources

The current deployment practices of HR is not carried

out in an educated manner as there is no succession plans

for replacement of staff. Leaving positions unattended

will cause lots of problems and discontinuation of

services. This will lead to poor quality of services which

is bad for institution.

Deployment exercises must be well planned and should

be based on good reasons.

Absence of Quality Management System

(QMS) and procedure in the university level

This is very critical and needs immediate actions.

Low staff morale The uncertain and disturbing situation if continued may

lead to high staff attrition.

overlaps of responsibilities among NU and

college executives

Many functions e.g. (marketing, international relations,

international recruitment…) are unattended and staff of

the certain sections are confused about their line mangers

or reporting span


Opportunity Description

Becoming part of the National University There is good scope for improvement after considering

changes current situations & rectifying the current week

points.

College Mission, Vision and values To frame college level Mission, Vision and values in

line with NU Mission, Vision & values

Governance System To frame well defined governance structure with

specific responsibility at NU & college level

Quality Management System (QMS) To define a well and organized QMS structure

Streamlining operation among colleges Unified the operation system among all NU colleges.

Simplifying the purchasing / procurement process to

avoid any delay in the working process & any effect the

outcome.

NU and college executives responsibilities Well-defined governance structure with specified roles and responsibilities of college executives.

Well-defined policy management framework with clear flow of a collaborative decision making system

involving all stake holder inputs.

Reputation and recognition in industries and

different countries

To continue to maintain and improve the current

reputation with industries by offering them attractive

services.

To develop procedure and system based on

good practices

Design the University system, policies & procedures

based on the good practices currently followed in NU

colleges

Avoid any overcoming of responsibilities

among NU and college executives

Available good practices of colleges University system, policies & pro should be build-on the

good practices currently followed in NU colleges

Because this colleges are in business since 20 years and

maintain good reputation in terms of quality and

standards.

Threat Description

Staff morale Low staff morale, demotivated staff, and situation of

uncertainty.

Non-cooperation among NU colleges. Non-cooperative among NU colleges due to complexity

and lack of proper rules and regulations


NU colleges Standards & Systems

The disparity of standards among colleges

(NU)

The complexities should be discussed and the gap should

be reduced by standardizing current good practices

Other HEI’s & unique programs offered New universities and HEI’s which offered new & unique

programs.

Dismantle of college quality office and its

faculty

The quality office under colleges are the strongest units

and relocating and dismantling is a big challenge

Staff attrition rate Demotivated staff will led to high attrition rate especially

of experienced staff which is a threat.

Losing of existing good achievements & good

records (Reputation & Accreditation)

If the uncertainty current situation last for long staff and

students are not motivated to do good work which will

lead to the current reputation to shrink down the ladder.

Taking away of decision making power at the

college level Leads to lengthy decision at NU level.

This may even lead to college management not able to take appropriate measures or actions for some

critical situations leading to breakdown of operations.

Centralization system The current “Centralization” system followed is supposed to be very old in terms of business studies.

Might not work for long due to the complex working nature of NU colleges.

We cannot ignore the fact that NU campuses are located in different locations with different program

number and system


College of Medicine – SWOT



1. Dr. John Muthusami Pedagogy

2. Dr. Mohammed Borghan

3. Dr. Souad Al Okla Research, Consultancy, and

Training 4. Dr. Chitra Rajalakshmi

5. Dr. Sanam Anwar Community Engagement

6. Dr. Sandip Kudesia

7. Dr. Vinod Nambiar Governance, Growth, and Welfare 8. Mr. Shiyab Kannambath


for further discussions which was chaired by the Dean, Dr. Saleh Al Khusaiby. The initial

document was thoroughly reviewed and a new version was submitted.



Developed by: Dr. John Muthusami & Dr. Mohammed Borghan


Usage of technology to

enhance teaching and learning

Multiple technologies are being used to improve teaching

and learning: E-mail, SOLE, animations, graphics, etc.

Students access to information

References and resources, mock tests, support material,

and information in general. Good library

Continuous improvement of

high quality education

Regular review of curriculum, well-equipped anatomy

lab, introduction of new revamped curriculum

Academic partnership with

WVU

Regular review, monitoring, advising on our academic

program including IT support

Excellent learning environment

that has produced qualified

graduates only 15 years since

inception

Produced close to a thousand highly sought-after

qualified graduates with our own “brand value”



Lack of research components in

the current curriculum

No structured research course and poor research

facilities

Less attractive to international

students

No international accreditation of program

Strengthening of the clinical

training facilities

Do not have our own health care facility, equipping the

clinical skill lab has not happened

Lack of regular review of

courses

Lack of comprehensive system (preferably IT-based )

to ensure regular review of courses

Lack of enough material for

clinical exams

There is a lack of diversity of clinical cases

Low performance on

International exams

Students are not adequately trained to perform well in

international competitive exams

Location Our location doesn’t attract the very best academic

performers as they also like to involve themselves in

other scholarly activities during their studies.


To expand on collaboration with

local and int’l institutions

To provide opportunities to collaborate on pedagogical

methodology and research

To create an individualized and

enhanced interactive learning

experience

To adopt more innovative pedagogical methods such as

team-based and flipped learning

To provide unique and

specialized courses/programs

To establish degree, diplomas, and short course

programs in health sciences and IT courses (e.g.;

epidemiology, statistics, health sciences, management

Training courses for international examinations over

weekends

To cultivate extracurricular

activities as part of academic

pursuit in order to promote

personal development

To utilize the existing facilities and resources optimally


Increased rate of faculty turnover Low retention due mainly due compensation package.

Poor progression over career pathways

No programmes with attached bonds

Dependence on expatriate

faculty

Need to be more attractive to Omani faculty who are

more tuned to the health and educational requirements

of the nation, conceptualizing education most suited to

Oman


Loss of the unique identity of the

colleges in the NU

Need to make sure that unique identity of each of the

colleges in the NU are preserved and continue to be

nurtured

Competition from private and

public institutions

Other institutions may gain better visibility due to the

sheer versatility of their academic programmes

Dependence on only one

academic programme

If the government decides to reduce the students from

its pool here we have very little to offer other streams

of students.


Ensure visible standing through proactive initiatives in Research, Consultancy, and Training

in align with the national priorities.

Developed by: Dr. Souad Al Okla & Dr. Chitra Rajalakshmi


The institution setting in Oman The College of medicine and health Sciences is the second

Medical College in the Sultanate of Oman and the first and unique

private health Sciences in Oman

Faculty expertise The interdisciplinary academic staff who have the potential for

high quality interdisciplinary research and to provide mentorship

for student investigators

Existing research strategies Research manual including vision, mission, research and ethics

committee and policies and a to promote research

Laboratory facilities for research Research laboratory include specialized instrumentation for the

conduct of basic and clinical research


Non availability of Organizational

structure for medical education

research

To plan and improve quality and quantity of translational and

clinical research in areas of national significance and global

importance through internal focus and external collaboration a

dedicated research team is required.

Research facilities are inadequate and

limited human resource base

- Lack of human resources (research director, research assistant, Statisticians and technicians )

- Lack of research culture and Difficulty in attracting high quality

researchers.

Non availability of dedicated faculty

for research

Dedicated faculty for research could spend more time in

implementing research schemes.


Very small share in the scientific

production

The College has a limited research record; the number of

publications per researcher per year which is very low in average

compared to the international rate number of papers for each

researcher.

Less contribution to the production of

original research and patents are

inexistent

Research publication is almost in survey-based research.

Lack of collaborative research Very weak linkages among the different players in the research (in

particular between research institutes, universities, the private

sector and Government).

Low index of research appreciation Lack of incentives for faculty to conduct research.

Lack of support of research

- Very low budget for research.

- Limited knowledge on external resources

- Planning budget allocation for research

- Internal grants allocation -department wise distribution

Infrastructure -Research facility A separate block for research administration & activities will help

to expand of research with more focus

Time constraint Different timeline in the academic programs do not logistically

allow interdepartmental collaborative research

Faculty freedom Lack of access to patients & clinical laboratory material,

community and hospital

Dependency of small number of

experienced researchers

Lack of team based research culture


Strengthening research facilities - Expanding institutional core facilities, and renovating existing

laboratory space.

- Enhance areas of research excellence through strengthening

research centers.

Research Strategies Plan for

Implementation

Plan to improve and implement the existing research strategies.

Capacity Building Faculty Development Programs based on need or interest for all

categories of staff.

Incentives to researchers - Better chances for presentations at national and international

conferences

- Recognize & Reward staff & students for their achievements in

research – display boards, Talking walls

Multi-professional team of researchers Interdisciplinary health research is encouraged and can be

requirement for specific research grants


Identifying collaborative partners For benchmarking and exchange programs in specific research

areas

Facilitate internal and public-private

partnerships and other institutional

collaborations to accelerate discovery

and translation

Build statewide networks/collaboratives to ensure that College of

Medicine and health sciences advances its clinical and research

missions.

Access to leading medical research

and clinical resources

Maximize the use of our clinical data for the purpose of research

with a goal of improving population health.

Establish medical education unit conduct collaborative research in medical education and provide a

formal plan to support educational researchers

Creation of dedication website for

basic medical sciences and clinical

research activities

- Increased national and international visibility of the medical

faculty with respect to educational research and evidence-based

curricular development.

- Have our own peer reviewed Scientific Journal

Good Business environment through

research centers that can external give

services

Provide paid services for workshops and diagnostic tests (genetic,

immunologic…etc)

Promote easy access for faculty to the

hospital sources

Maximize the use of the clinical data for the purpose of research

with a goal of improving population health.


Loss of reputation of the College and

the university in case of failure

Failure to attract and retain the best staff. As staffing levels

decrease and teaching loads increase, there is a potential that

research outputs will be damaged further.

Demotivated researchers Feeling of lack of competition from other researches within the

College

Research productivity Failure to continue to develop research productivity may result in

lower research income to college





Developed by: Dr. Sanam Anwar & Dr. Sandip Kudesia


Mission and Vision Statement College of Medical and Health sciences has

incorporated community engagement in their mission

and vision statement

Integration of community

engagement at a central office

The Vice Dean of Clinical Affairs and his office

coordinate all activities related to community

engagement of the Institute

Community extension officer has been appointed and is

taking care of outreach activities

Student affairs office The students affairs office makes annual plan for the

community outreach activities by groups of students

under different student bodies like SCOPH

Conduct of regular community

engagement activities

The following are being regularly conducted:

-Non-communicable diseases screening campaigns

-Blood Donation Camps and blood disorders awareness

campaigns

-Health Awareness programs

-Dissemination of health education through posters on

diseases of public health importance

Funding and budget for

community engagement

There is adequate funding and budget for community

engagement by the College

Partnership with MOH hospitals

and Clinics as teaching units

MOH doctors teach clinical care practice to students in

the specific health centers and hospital both in Sohar and

Rustaq to the final graduates in the MD curriculum

Public Health guest lectures are taken by the North

Batinah governorate DG office staff and faculty for

premedical students


Qualitative research related to


There is lack of research in the field for better

understanding and assessing the current state of

engagement and its impact on the community


Partnership with private

hospitals and clinics

There is no official partnership with private hospitals,

clinics and other public health centers which hinders

organizing of joint programs for a wider community

perspective

Clear description of the role


activities of NUST and

evaluation of the impact on the

society

Clear description and definitions describing the role of

the College is lacking in serving diverse communities

and measurement of its outcome in the health of the

community

Engagement and Community

partnership

The community is not actively involved and engaged as

a partner with the outreach services provided by the

College of Medical Sciences.

Absence of self-owned medical

care unit

The College does not have its own hospital which is the

first step to powerful community bonding


Optimal utilization of

Community engagement

The College must be able to meet the challenges that

society presents and be able to implement and sustain

changes and improvements in its education system to

meet and overcome those challenges by optimal

utilization of community engagement activities.

Role of College of Medical and

Health Sciences

College of Medical and Health sciences can play an

important role in the health of the community by

effective planning and implementation of engagement

programs with involvement of students, faculty and

staff along with regular academic activities with

emphasis on societal issues which affect the health of

communities

Effective partnership with MOH

institutions

College staff and faculty can organize and implement

outreach activities and hospital and clinic based

activities when they have proper administrative support

of the MOH institutions.

MOU could be signed with these institutions to allow

students and faculty an active role in patient care

Improvement of health and

health care systems in the

society

Medical professionals and students can simultaneously

improve the personal health of their patients as well as

the health care system that benefits all society with

effective community engagement programs

Create a partnership with the

community and involve it in its

activities

The College of Medicine and Health Sciences should

strive to create powerful partnerships for healthier

communities and increase community engagement and

health awareness


Development of community

engagement curriculum

The College should ensure that the curriculum for all

programs incorporates health issues specific to Oman.

Mapping of curriculum in relation to adequate coverage

to locally prevalent diseases.

This can be done by (a) incorporating the meaning,

purpose, and benefit of community engagement into an

already existing tight curriculum for the students (b)

reexamining the institutional structure that benefits or

hinders community engagement by the Institution

Collaboration with outside

foundations

Outside foundations or funding sources such as the

Industry could be a driving force for change within the

institution

Development of subsets of

community service

An example of such a subset of community service

would be ‘community-oriented primary care’ instituted

by individual departments such as FAMCO or

Community Medicine with attachment to different

private clinics or MOH medical centers.

Awards , recognition and

incentives

Establishment of an award or incentive to students,

faculty and staff for outstanding contribution to

activities related to community service and engagement

to encourage active participation by all

Role modelling and experience

in community engagement

In order for present students who are future physicians

to meet challenges in community health, they would be

able to understand the importance of the community, by

seeing their peers and faculty engaging with the

community, and have personal experience in

community engagement to contribute towards better

health of the society.

Community-engaged scholarship To create community-engaged physicians in the future,

the College can institute community-engaged

scholarship to assist in integration of skills and attitudes

of good citizenship by creating dynamic new systems

of learning and partnership between communities and

the institution


Health problems in the society

causing pressure on the

resources for fruitful

implementation of community

engagement activities.

Some examples are: inadequate access to health care,

and health disparities in the community

Competition from other

Institutions

Other Institutions who have a better community

engagement program for outreach would be competing

with the College of Medical Sciences for similar

activity


The pressure of academics on

students and lack of incentives

like promotion opportunities in

faculty and staff

The rigor of medical education and the competition for

promotion among academic faculty and staff may not

easily fit with an involvement and new commitment to


Quality services demand quality

technology and resources

Active community engagement would call for a huge

budget, logistics to be able to fulfil the demands

resourcefully which would include state of art facilities

and equipment for community service

Strategic Destination: Governance, Growth, and Welfare

Shape a trajectory of growth through a positive governance to make

the National University, Bigger, Bolder, and Better.

Developed by: Dr. Vinod Nambiar & Mr. Shiyab Kannambath


1. Qualified and experienced

leadership

a. Wise and visionary BOD, eminent BOT, highly

qualified and experienced dean, vice-dean and dydean

2. Dedicated, diverse and highly

qualified and experienced

faculty

a. Diverse faculty with international experience.

b. Highly qualified faculty with research credibility

c. Most faculty with 10+ years of experience

3. Strong framework of policies

and procedures

a. Governance structure is robust with legally framed

documents and processes

b. Organizational framework is self-descriptive and

result oriented

4.Internationally well recognized

and accredited academic partner-

West Virginia University

a. WVU school of medical sciences is one of the

premier medical colleges in North America and

accredited by US Liaison Committee on Medical

Education and Accreditation Council for Graduate

Medical Education (ACGME) and National

Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences

(NAACLS) . West Virginia University is ranked No.

86 (tie) in Best Medical Schools: Research and No. 58

in Best Medical Schools: Primary Care in USA (2019).

5. Strong and dedicated links

and partnership with MOHE and

MOH, Oman

a. Association with MOH by free use of Regional

hospitals for clinical teaching

b. Help and advice from MOHE time-to-time

6. Online learning platform

(SOLE) from WVU exclusive

for OMC use.

a. Student and faculty friendly and safe online teaching-

learning site

b. Assessements on SOLE are hassle-free and fool-

proof

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaison_Committee_on_Medical_Educationhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liaison_Committee_on_Medical_Educationhttp://www.acgme.org/https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/research-rankingshttps://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-medical-schools/primary-care-rankings



1.Lack of adequate funds for

proper growth and welfare

a. Funds for teaching-learning and research grants not

matching expectations of a medical college

b. Funds for faculty and staff professional development

is inadequate

c. Welfare of staff, faculty and students grossly

inadequate

2.Lack of systematic approach

to Governance, Growth, and

Welfare

a. Mostly ad-hoc approach to governance issues and

problems

b. Long term plans not envisaged or not known to

everyone

c. Lack of transparency

3.Previous Strategic plan &

Operational plan targets not

achieved

a. Data shows plan targets not achieved because of

various reasons

4.Welfare schemes not

implemented adequately

a. Lack of welfare schemes for all in college or campus

b. Social programs not there

5.Second rung leadership not

identified or in active positions

a. Leadership plan not visible

6.Communication channels are

inadequate

a. Communication of decisions from top to bottom

rung not streamlined and hence inadequate information

b. Staff and faculty issues not seem to be reaching the

top leadership and hence a sense of mistrust

7. Involvement of other

stakeholders (Community

leaders, Alumni) not effective

a. Stakeholders like Alumni, Community leaders,

Industry leaders are not effectively utilised for growth

and development of college.


1. New NU structure provides

scope for enhanced Governance,

Growth, and Welfare schemes

a.More detailed and strong well-implemented schemes

and procedures expected

b. More funds available for this

2. More funds from government

and external agencies under

university umbrella

a. University gives a legitimate address for more

soliciting more funds

b. Research grants expected

3. Only medical college in

private sector and only medical

college (apart from SQU ) in the

Sultanate of Oman

a. Provides exclusive privilege for taking good medical

seat aspirants and decide on their tution fees

b. Unhindered Government support as this is the second

only medical college in Oman


4. Interdisciplinary and Inter-

professional activities and

research will increase

a. Medical college, Engineering college, Phramacy and

other colleges will create a vast pool of diverse

professionals for more collaborative activities in

professional development and research


1.Attrition of qualified and

experienced but demotivated

faculty and staff

a. Attrition due to lack of proper opportunities for

growth like professional development, promotions and

benchmarked pay scales. New University may focus

more on development of infrastructure and governance

rather than staff and faculty issues

b. Inadequate welfare schemes for employees

2.Time lag for decision making

as it becomes centralized

a. Even small issues like local purchase may be delayed

due to decision pending from university body

b.Staff and faculty leave and other procedure request

may be delayed if from central university

3. Cross-Subsidization of

courses

a. Revenue generating courses like Medicine’s funds

can be diverted to run and subsidize non-profitable

courses in the university.

4. Government permission for

new medical colleges in Govt

and private sector

a. New medical college in Oman will create

competition for students and funds


College of Pharmacy – SWOT



1. Dr. Abdul Salam Nazmi Pedagogy

2. Dr. Alka Ahuja Research, Consultancy, and

Training

3. Dr. Majeed Abu Khadar Community Engagement

4. Dr. Jayasekhar Governance, Growth, and

Welfare


for further discussions which was chaired by the Acting Dean, Dr. Yaseen Al Lawatia. The

initial document was thoroughly reviewed and a new version was submitted.



Developed by: Dr. Abdul Salam Nazmi


1 International highly qualified well experienced faculty.

2 Diversified multinational students.

3 International standard curriculum contextualized with Oman professional

requirements.

4 Online teaching and learning resources including print library.

5 Transparent assessment strategies are practiced.

6 Boosting the performance of weaker students by various means.


1 Lack of clinical facility for pharmaceutical training.

2 Lack of advanced lab equipment

3 Lack of diversity of faculty

4 Low faculty and students ratio

5 Lack of Benchmarking in best practices.

6 Underutilization of affiliation with West Virginia University in pharmacy

field.



1 To introduce short term training courses in pharmacy field.

2 Utilization of Sole (online teaching and assessment tool) in pharmacy

education.

3 Since long standing pharmacy education, there is opportunity for starting

graduate and doctorate programs in pharmacy education.

4 Engagement of MOH clinical practitioners in delivering clinical topics.


1 Retention of the faculty

2 Lack of international students.

1. Less opportunities for local employment

2. High fee structure

3. Less services/facilities for international students

3 Lack of MOHE scholarship for Omani students.


Ensure visible standing through proactive initiatives in Research, Consultancy, and Training

in align with the national priorities.

Developed by: Dr. Alka Ahuja


Qualified Faculty Most of the Faculty members are having a Ph.D degree

with good research experience and publications.

Research is introduced in the

curriculum

The research culture is inculcated through course work.

Collaborations/ MOU with the

hospitals and other research

institutes

Projects have been done in the past with the MOH

hospitals.

Proactive leadership at the

college level and Professional

development for research.

The students and Faculty are encouraged to present

their findings in Research meetings and conferences

through support by the University.

Academic support provided

through study Leave and funds

Study leave is provided to pursue Masters and

Doctorate programmes.

Good Publication record The publications have good citation records and have

good visibility.



Lack of Director of Research

and a qualified statistician

There is no office to monitor the activities related to

Research. Need to hire a statistician who can help to

plan and analyse the research outcomes.

Lack of advanced equipment and

instruments

Laboratories need to be equipped appropriately

Lack of Masters and Doctorate

programmes

The Research programmes are not available at the

College of Pharmacy.

Lack of adequate funds and

research assistants to carry out

research

The Faculty has teaching responsibilities. Moreover the

internal finding amount is very little and cannot support

high quality laboratory research


Starting of the Masters and

Doctorate programmes

Such programmes will help the students who want to

pursue higher studies and have interest in research.

Collaborate with Pharmaceutical

industries and offer consultancy

This can help in Formulation development and

providing consultancy services.

Short term courses in Research Short term programmes in Research and Statistics can

help people who want to pursue research.


Other institutes imparting the

Pharmacy courses

Competition from peer institutes to start Masters

programme in Clinical Pharmacy.

Lack of Funds and support from

the funding agencies

Nonavailability of funds will lead to poor quality of

research and will affect the image of the institution .

Lack of time for Research and

incentives / funds for the Faculty

This poses a serious threat as Faculty feels demotivated

due to lack of incentives for carrying out research.




Developed by: Dr. Majeed Abu Khadar


Active Pharmacy Alumni A group of OMC Alumni (started in 2018) are currently

active in being involved in community engagement and

also encouraging current students to participate in

various activities. Evidence: pictures

Potential for tapping external

resources for student scholarship

Scholarships were secured to support needy students to

continue their studies in the college



Lack of initiative by students

and staff

Students have the impression that community

engagement is a waste of time. More to be done to

orient students and staff to highlight the importance of

community engagement in career prospects.

Lack of office for community

engagement in the Pharmacy

college

Lack of internal funding The college/university is not putting community

engagement as a priority when creating the annual

budget for the pharmacy college.

Lack of frequency and

consistency of collaborative

activities with other voluntary

and civil organizations

Activities are not frequently organized and are not

timely planned i.e. some activities are done ad hoc

(without any prior planning)

Lack of community

projects/services

There is no evident projects that can be related to

OMC/NUST in the surrounding community (i.e.

projects funded by OMC/NUST – like mosque, play

ground, a charity org)


College prime location in

Muscat

This should give advantage over other schools of

pharmacy in the country. We have better reputation and

the college is more known for its pharmacy program

than Oman College of Health Sciences and HCT. Wide

variety of health related activities and services to be

offered to locals in Bausher and Khowair area

Documents

ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN · 2019. 7. 29. · Dr. Saleh Al Khusaiby is the Dean. 3. College of Pharmacy: The college has academic affiliations with the West Virginia University to run the