MUSCAT:  Muscat College, one of the pioneers of the private higher education institutions in the country, and Knowledge Oman, the leading knowledge-sharing platform in the Sultanate, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate collaboration between the two institutions with the aim of promoting knowledge-sharing and impacting the society in a positive way.

The agreement is part of Muscat College’s endeavour to engage with the community by facilitating its participation in Knowledge Oman initiatives through inclusion in speaker’s platform, seminars, workshop and projects undertaken for the benefit of the society. The agreement also looks into facilitating collaboration in research and community engagement activities on innovations and ideas that are related to IT and Business sectors, funded research projects in addition to providing professional development training courses. Both Muscat College and Knowledge Oman will see mutual exchange of soft and professional skills between the two institutions that would also impact stakeholders which includes support for students with special needs. 

Knowledge Oman team was represented by its Founder and Chairman, Tariq Hilal Al Barwani along with Vice Chairman Dr Baby Sam Samuel and the President Khalfan Al Mahrizi who signed the memorandum on behalf of Knowledge Oman.

Muscat College was represented by Dr Mathew Philip (Acting Dean), Dr Melina James (Director of Quality Assurance), Dr Reshmy Krishnan (Head of Research), Dr Saranchandran Nair (HoD, Dept of Computing), Dr Araby Madbouly (HoD, Department of Business and Accounting, Mr. Zaid Al Shukaili (Director of Admission and Registration), Mr. Ayman Bait Saleem (Director of Communication and Public Relations) and Mr. Sinu Kurian (Director of IT Services) at the signing ceremony. 

Mr. Khalfan Al Mahrizi, President of Knowledge Oman said, “One of the aims of Knowledge Oman is to help bridge the knowledge-gap between the academia and the industry, we are very honoured to work closely with Muscat College to bring that idea into a reality”

Dr Mathew Philip, Acting Dean said, “Muscat College is pleased to partner with Knowledge Oman which will reinforce MC’s new vision and mission through creation and dissemination of knowledge for lifelong learning supported through teaching, research, training and community engagement. This collaboration provides an opportunity for our staff and students to be involved in internships and initiatives of Knowledge Oman through which they can develop their skills and knowledge through practical experience.”

Muscat College is well known for the quality of its academic programs and supporting facilities and services, which aim at providing students with quality college education. The college offers Advanced Diploma Programmes in affiliation with Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA), as well as Bachelor with Honours Programs in affiliation with University of Stirling, UK. 

University of Stirling graduates for the Bachelor of Accounting and Business Studies programme have the advantage of 8 exemptions from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) certification. In addition, the college offers MSc in Management in affiliation with University of Stirling. Since September 2019, the college started offering MSc in Big Data, the first of its kind in Oman and thus leading the way of technology drivers for the 4^th Industrial Revolution. The college also has affiliation with Universiti Malaysia Pahang to offer Bachelor with Honours Programmes with focus in technological fields such as Computer Network Systems and Software Engineering.  It is the only college in Oman that offers Bachelor with Honours in Project Management. 

Within 12 years of operation, Knowledge Oman has impacted hundreds of thousands of people with 74 initiatives in the form of projects, workshops, seminars that have positively impacted students from colleges and universities, women, entrepreneurs and professionals from various industries. Projects were supported by over 35 partners locally and internationally attracting over 80,000 registrations and 700 volunteers across the years.

Knowledge Oman received 4 awards that include the outstanding contribution to the cause of education from the World Human Resource Development (HRD) Congress. Members of the platform consist of multinational group of both locals and expatriates living in the country with the passion for creating, sharing and exchanging knowledge.