Exploring Modern Carbonates at Bar Al-Hikman
Panorama
Why Currency Wars?
Mind Over Matter
SQU Wins Third Place in World Level of Imperial Barrel Award
News Update
Do We Need Care Homes
for the Elderly?
Department of Public
Relations and Information
Sultan Qaboos University
Issue 214
View Point
Learning the Past
for Our Future
Khamis Rajab Al Busaidi
Editorial Supervision
Humaid Al Adwani
Editor -in-chief
M.K. Santhosh
Senior Editor
Younis Al Harrasi
Editor & Translator
Ahlam Al Wahaibi
Design & Layout
Rashad Al Wahaibi
& Photography Dept., CET
Photography
Archaeologists look for evidence of the past, which is often a daunting
task considering the world’s headlong pursuit of the future. However, the
Archaeology Exhibition organized by the History & Archaeology Society at
SQU helped the visitors to travel back into time providing valuable information
about the human settlements which existed centuries ago in Oman. The
Sultanate is home to many important archaeological sites such as Wubar, Khor
Rori – Sumharam, Al Baleed, Ras al- Hamra, Bat ,Ra’s al jinz, Samad Ash-Shan,
Al Manzifah, Burooj Kibaykib-Al Jaylah, Wadi Dawkah, etc. Bat, located to
the east of Wilayat Ibri, has been listed as World Heritage site in 1988. The
exhibition shed light on the cultural history of the country and answered
various questions about the lifestyles of people who lived in this part of the
world. It also helped to ascertain the chronology of the pre-historic times.
Archaeology, the study of human culture in historic as well as pre-historic times,
by examining the material remains of early human settlements, is an exciting
area of study. These material remains range from human or plant fossils to
excavated artefacts or ruins of an old building. In fact, not many people are
attracted to archaeology as it considered as a boring subject.
We should mention here that the students who are members of the Archaeology
& History Society showed cent per cent dedication to their subject and the
exhibition they organized. We strongly believe that these students have many
images, judgments and impressions of archaeology flashing across their minds.
They realise that the goal of archaeologists is to reconstruct the daily life of
humans throughout history. By means of organizing an exhibition they strived
to map cultural change through time and make connections between cultures.
Many movies have been created with archaeological excavations and discoveries
as main theme. Those who are experienced in this field say that archaeology is
much more satisfying and more fantastic than what film images impress upon
us. It is a search for truth, and the study of what life is. Knowing our past, we
can choose wisely which direction we should go towards our future.
Horizon invites contributions from SQU members of staff and faculty. Contributions in the form of articles, news, travelogues, stories of unique and interesting experiences, encounters, etc., are welcome. Contributions may be edited
for the sake of clarity and length. Please send your contributions to horizon@squ.edu.om preferably, as MSWord attachments. Authors will be suitably credited.
Horizon is published three times a month by the Department of Public Relations and Information,
Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50, P.C. 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
Phone: +968 24141045
E-mail: horizon@squ.edu.om
20 April 2011 P2
Fax: +968 24413 391
Website: www.squ.edu.om
News Update
Exhibition Sheds Light on
Archaeology in Oman
The History & Archaeology Group of Sultan Qaboos University recently
organised an exhibition titled “Archaeology in Oman: Reality and
Future” under the patronage of HE Salim bin Mohammad Al Mahrooqi,
Undersecretary for Heritage Affairs at the Ministry of Heritage and
Culture. The exhibition highlighted the rich archaeological heritage
of different parts of Oman. Each area of the Sultanate has its own
distinctive archaeology. The student group arranged the exhibition with
archaeological treasures and posters collected from the Archaeology
Museum of the College of Arts & Social Sciences and the Ministry of
Heritage and Culture museum.
The displays included flint artefacts of 3000 BC obtained from Wadi al
Umair, Al Sharqiya Sands, and Bausher, painted pottery of Umm anNar and Wadi Suq periods, fishing nets, tethering stones, leather bags,
foot coverings, etc. Stone inscriptions and models of ancient graves were
the other attractions of the exhibition. Large communal, free-standing
tombs of the Umm an-Nar Period contained numerous interments.
Archaeological treasures belonging to Old Stone Age, New Stone Age,
Copper Age, Bronze Age, Early Iron Age, Late Iron Age, that is Samad
Period, so-called late pre-Islamic culture and the Age of Islam were on
display in the exhibition.
SQU Honours
Outstanding Students
HE Dr. Ali al Bimani, the Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University
presided over a function of honouring 458 students who excelled in
academic and extracurricular activities. The Vice Chancellor awarded
merit certificates to 85 male students and 373 female students from nine
colleges within the university. On the occasion, Dr. Humaira Suleiman al
Sulaimani, Acting Dean of Student Affairs said that the ceremony is aimed
at motivating and encouraging all students within the university to further
excel in academic and co-curricular activities.
Dr. Al Bimani also inaugurated a student exhibition held on sidelines of the
honouring ceremony. The exhibition featured souvenirs that the students
collected during their the summer trips to Spain and Scandinavia in 2010.
The trips were organised by the Deanship of Student Affairs with the
support of His Majesty the Sultan’s fund earmarked for the annual student
trips. Earlier, a short film on the student trips was screened in the students
honouring ceremony. The trips are meant for honouring academically good
students and is aimed at familiarising them with universities in different
countries and different civilisations and cultures worldwide. The male
student batch consisted of 32 students, and was headed by Dr Mohammed
al Masheiki, former Dean of Student Affairs, and the female batch included
an equal number of students and was led by Dr. Humaira Suleiman al
Sulaimani during their European tour.
SQU Wins Third Place in World Level of Imperial Barrel Award
a big achievement for the university having scored the third prize. This
success is very important and means a lot to Oman and the Middle East.
It has set a firm foundation for the joining students to follow suit and
build on this success. The team have set a reputable minimum standard
for students to benchmark their performance against and a reference
for the country’s expectation. Sultan Qaboos University was the only
university participated with students doing their BSc degrees while all
12 other universities representing different regions from around the
world participated with students doing PhD and MSc courses.
The team that represented SQU in this international contest comprised
of five students: Ismail Said Rashid Al Dhahli, Shaikha Hamed Hilal Al
Qassabi, Asya Ahmed Hammad Al Abri, Nasser Sultan Mohammed Al
Habsi, and Omar Mohammed Marhoon Al Riyami, all undergraduate
students from the College of Science.
Students from the Department of Earth Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University
won third place in the global level contest of the American Association
of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Imperial Barrel Award Programme. The
completion was part of the annual convention and exhibition of the
Association held in Houston, USA from April 8 to 13. SQU, representing the
Middle East region, received the Stoneley Medal for the third place.
The project assigned to the SQU team was titled, ‘Evaluation of
Hydrocarbon prospectivity in Cooper and Eromanga Basins’ South
of Australia. The AAPG Imperial Barrel Award involves competitive,
exploration-based projects undertaken by groups of students (typically
4-5 students per team and one faculty adviser) studying masters or
doctoral level petroleum geosciences in academic institutions from
around the world. Since SQU is not offering postgraduate degrees, it is
exempted from this role.
This is the first time for SQU to be qualified for the finals in USA and it is
20 April 2011 P3
Insight
By: M.K. Santhosh
The lengthening shadow of life of our elderly
is fast becoming a major challenge for society.
This challenge needs to be addressed before it
acquires unpleasant proportions. While most
advanced countries have some kind of social
security mechanism in place, the same is not
true for countries like Oman. Our society has
traditionally treated the care of the elderly as
the responsibility of the younger generation.
However, the rapid increase in the number
of nuclear families, the growing urbanisation
and the global nature of employment
opportunities are forcing a change in this
implicit social contract.
Dr. Hamed Al Sinawi , Consultant Old
age Psychiatrist from the Department of
Behavioural Medicine, SQU Hospital said
that the number of older adults in all over
the world is increasing and Oman is no
exception. This increase is often explained
by improvement in health care and the socioeconomic sectors.
Dr. Al Sinawi said: “In Oman the elderly
person is looked after by their family which
sometimes can be challenging and draining.
Some elderly people face multiple physical
problems and they eventually loss the ability
to do simple tasks like independent feeding,
using the toilet or changing their clothes,
some may be paralysed after a stroke and are
bed ridden. Others may have mental health
problems like dementia or depression with
episodes of aggression and confusion”.
Dr. Al Sinawi reminisced an experience: “I
once had a patient with severe Alzheimer’s
Disease who was unable to recognize his own
wife after more than 50 years of marriage.
He sometimes thinks she is an intruder and
chases her out of the house or attempt to
strangle her. Another patient refuse to eat or
drink to the point of becoming dehydrated
and needed admission to hospital. Patients
with Alzheimer’s disease can be physically
fit which can be a problem when they attack
their carer or wander outside the house and
forget how to return”.
Under the supervision of Dr. Hamed Al
Sinawi, a group of 6th year students from
the College of Medicine and Health Sciences
recently organized a debate titled “Should
we have care homes for the elderly in Oman”.
The old age psychiatry unit was established
at SQUH on September 2010 and is having
a good turnover of patients presenting with
different types of mental problems like
dementia, depression and anxiety.
A care home is a place of residence for people
who require constant nursing care and
have significant deficiencies with activities
of daily living like washing, eating and
attending to personal care. Dr. Al Sinawi
said that GCC countries like Bahrain, Qatar
and UAE have a few care homes with clear
criteria of who should be residing there.
There are international assessment tools that
determines the type of care a particular person
20 April 2011 P4
Dr. Hamed Al Sinawi and his students engaged in a discussion about the need for
establishing care homes for the elderly in Oman
Do We Need Care Homes
for the Elderly?
needs, based on their medical and psychological
state.
Commenting on the attitude of the younger
generation toward the elderly in Oman, Dr. Sinawi
said that the elderly person is generally well
respected by their children and grand children
and the Omani culture has always portrayed the
old person as the wise man/woman who gives
advice to the younger generation. “However in
some areas the social structure has changed and
nuclear family are becoming more common than
the traditional extended family. Both partners
would leave to work every morning, the children
leave to school so the elder person in left on his/
her own or in some families under the supervision
of a maid”. According to Dr. Al Sinawi, it would a
good idea to develop day care centres where the
elderly would spend a few hours in the morning,
chat with friends of the same age group, have
some snacks and practise some hobbies of their
choice.
There are no formal care homes in Oman but
according to the Oman official e-government
services portal, there is a senior citizens home
that is equipped to receive a limited number
of elderly who have no immediate family and
need care. This home is run by the Ministry of
Social Development and based in Al Rustaq. The
national census 2003 statistics says that senior
citizens represent 4.8% of the population in the
Sultanate. Most seniors, especially males, are
married resulting in a stable family environment.
79.5% senior citizens are illiterate and 17.8%
senior citizens work in a commercial or economic
capacity.
Speaking about the physical and psychological
problems faced by the elderly in Oman, Dr. Al
Sinawi explained: “In some countries health care
for the elderly is delivered by a specific specialty
called geriatrics or care of the elderly. This specialty
is made up of doctors, nurses, occupational
therapists, social workers and other health care
providers who have special skills and training in
caring for the elderly. Unfortunately this specialty
is not yet developed in Oman and the elderly
health care is delivered within main stream health
care that also care for the children and younger
adults. Hence, exact details on problems (such as
mobility disability, incontinence, mental health
problems, dementia, etc) faced by the elderly in
Oman are not available.
To the question “do we need care homes for the
elderly?’, Dr. Al Sinawi responded that the simple
answer is ‘yes’. “We do need care homes in Oman
as the number of people who need this service is
increasing and it is not appropriate in my opinion
to keep these patient in long term hospital bed
in an acute hospital ward. Not only they block
a bed that should be used by some one with an
acute illness but also the elderly may not get good
quality care in these wards as the nursing staff are
not trained in dealing with the elderly and they
are often busy with other patients. Some people
fear that if a care home is opened this would
encourage some family to dump the elderly
person. This assumption is not supported by any
evidence and there have not been any cases of a
similar behaviour from the other GCC countries
who share with us similar cultural and religious
values”, he said.
Mind Over Matter
By: Dr. Samir Salim al Busaidi
Department of Economics & Finance
College of Commerce & Economics
Why Currency Wars?
Every economy in the world fluctuates and there are
always periods when economic performance is not optimal.
Sometimes nations suffer unemployment where there is a
lack of jobs and there are other periods where inflation is
high and the cost of living is expensive for citizens. Neither
of these situations is preferred and instead of just waiting
for economies to fix themselves the trend is for governments
to try and design policies to improve the performance of
their economies. One of the important tools that can adjust
these economic problems is the exchange rate. Essentially
the exchange rate is the price of one country’s currency
in terms of another. So a movement in the exchange rate
changes the price of exports and imports, resulting in trade
changes which affects the output of a country. For example,
if a country has an unemployment problem and it allows its
currency to decrease in value then its goods become cheaper
internationally and it can sell more to other countries. This
will increase the amount of exports and likely improve the
country’s income thus resulting in increased employment.
their currencies to appreciate.
Therefore, the exchange rate is a useful tool used to adjust
economic activity. However, there is an issue that needs to be
considered when discussing exchange rate fluctuations. As
mentioned above, the exchange rate is the relation between
the currencies of two countries. If one currency is decreasing
in value (depreciates) then the other currency must be
increasing in value (appreciate). So if the currency of country
A is decreasing in value and its exports are getting cheaper,
the other country’s exports are becoming more expensive.
This is not a problem as long as country A has low growth
and country B is growing quickly. In this case the exchange
rate change will adjust both economies in the correct way;
country A will grow faster while country B will slow down.
However, if both countries are growing slowly and have
unemployment problems then neither of them will want
Another concern is the effect of currency devaluations on
developing countries. This is especially important regarding
countries that are linked to the US dollar such as the GCC
countries. If the US participates in a currency war then the
value of all currencies linked to the US dollar will also fall.
The result of this is that the price of goods imported into
the GCC will increase and our economies will face inflation
problems. Today, globalization has forced world economies
to be interlinked through trade and any change a country
makes in trade and exchange rates policies will impact other
nations. Therefore it is important to recognize that when
governments manipulate currencies to improve their own
economies it can lead to negative affects internationally and
retaliation by others that will likely slow down the global
recovery that everyone wants.
The financial crisis in 2008 was a significant global event
that negatively affected most economies. Unemployment
increased in almost all countries. In an attempt to improve
economic performance many countries chose to increase the
amount of money circulating in their economies. The main goal
of this policy is to get people to spend more and create more
jobs. An indirect effect of this policy is that the exchange rate
depreciates, improving output and job creation. As discussed
above, an exchange rate movement affects two countries in
opposite directions. So with most countries currently having
unemployment problems, none of them want to have the
value of their currency increase. So although there has been
no official discussion of currency wars, the current global
economic climate does create a possibility for continuous
devaluations. It is difficult to argue that the popular policy of
increasing money is necessarily a deliberate action to devalue
currencies but the resulting devaluations are apparent.
20 April 2011 P5
News Round Up
SQU-PDO Souq Highlights
Petroluem Research
A poster presentation and discussion event titled SQU-PDO Technical Souq, was
jointly organized by Sultan Qaboos University and Petroleum Development Oman
under the patronage of HE Dr. Ali bin Saud al Bimani, SQU Vice Chancellor. In this
annual event, researchers from SQU present posters about ongoing and completed
research projects in the fields of oil exploration, recovery, and communication and
scientists from PDO come up with posters introducing technical problems faced
in oil exploration and recovery. The idea behind organizing SQU-PDO Technical
Souq is to explore possibilities of undertaking consultative research projects in
these areas with funding from PDO. This year, the two organizations came with 27
posters on various areas including enhanced oil recovery, water management in oil
fields, reservoir geophysics, beam pump challenges, gas lift management, etc.
Commenting on the event, HE Dr. Ali al Bimani said that the event reflected the
creativity and innovations in the field of oil exploration and recovery and expressed
satisfaction over the longstanding partnership between SQU and PDO. He called
upon the researchers at the university to take advantage of this exhibition and to
identify what type of projects that PDO is looking for, and thus take the initiative
to work out research proposals to obtain funding from PDO that could lead to
finding solutions to the technical challenges in the the oil and gas sector. Prof.
Amer bin Ali Al Rawas, SQU Deputy Vice Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies &
Research, observed that the event demonstrated the new challenges faced by PDO
with respect to oil production, drilling and the structure of oil, use of treated water
that comes out from the wells, expandable tubular technology and other things.
Students Demonstrates
Skills at Science Fest
The Science festival organised by the College of Science at SQU was held recently
under the patronage of HE Dr. Ali bin Saud al Bimani, SQU Vice Chancellor. All the
six student groups within the college, the Physics Group, the Biology Group, the
Chemistry Group, the Computer Science Group, the DOMAS Group and the Geo
Group actively participated in this annual event which showcased the innovative
skills and knowledge of the students.
A smart exhaust fan that would turn on by a mechanism if the mercury level shoots
up above room temperature or smoke or vapour is detected in the room and then
turn off automatically; the method of recycling cotton from disposed clothes; a laser
wireless mouse that can be used with slide projectors inside big lecture halls… the
innovative skills and knowledge of the students from the College of Science are
boundless. Several innovations and new ideas of the students were showcased at
the Science Festival.
20 April 2011 P6
College of Commerce
Holds Business Week
The 8th Business Week organized by the Business Group at the
College of Commerce & Economics of Sultan Qaboos University
was opened under the patronage of HH Sayyid Kamil bin Fahad
al Said, Assistant Secretary General for the Cabinet of the Deputy
Prime Minister for the Council of Ministers. Business Week is held
annually with a number of activities through which the students
learn how to apply their academic knowledge in practical situations.
Several private sector organizations and small and medium
entrepreneurs participated in the activities of the 8th Business Week
that lasted for four days.
In his address, HH Sayyid Kamil al Said said that since the advent
of the Blessed Renaissance, His Majesty has focussed on human
development and created an environment in which people can
develop their potentials in order to become more productive,
creative and self-motivated. He asserted that people are the true
wealth of a nation and this is what the Business Week aims to
unlock. “This event will create a hub which gathers both local and
international professionals, government organizations, educational
institutions, and most importantly students. The activities or the
Business Week will facilitate communication between all parties
and provide a better understanding of the various needs in order to
establish a common ground from which the young generation can
embark upon with confidence and reassurance”, he said.
Photo Week Held
Under the Slogan ‘Pixel’
The 14th Photo Week, organized by the Photo Society, a student group
at Sultan Qaboos University, was opened under the patronage of
HE Dr. Ali bin Saud al Bimani, the Vice Chancellor of the university.
This year, the slogan of the event was ‘Pixel’. The Vice Chancellor
inaugurated the exhibition consisting of 100 photographs and short
video films created by the members of the student group which
promotes the creative pursuits of students interested in photography
and related areas.
A book titled “The Epic of Light” was formally released during
the opening ceremony of the Photo Week. The book presents
different regions of the Sultanate using images, graphics and short
descriptions, reflecting the aesthetics social life in Oman. It also
depicts the development that the country achieved after the Blessed
Renaissance. The latest issue of the Photo Society’s magazine Al
Adasah (The Lens) was also released during the function. The
issue features the activities of the group for the year 2010 and latest
development in the field of photography.
Panorama
Exploring Modern Carbonates
at Bar Al-Hikman
The Barr Al Hikman peninsula is located on the eastern coast of the Sultanate
of Oman near Masirah Island. It is famous for its pristine kilometers long
beach made up of white sand. It is also considered as a paradise for geologists
trying to understand the present day carbonate depositional systems and is
therefore analogous to world renowned sites such as Bahamas and AbuDhabi coast.
The Earth Sciences Department of the College of Science organized a field
trip to Barr Al Hikman area for three days from 23rd to 25th of March 2011.
The purpose of the trip was to understand the geology of this area and to
study modern carbonates sediments and sabkhas in this peninsula, which
is protected from Indian Ocean storms by the Masirah Island. It has a
width of some 30 km and essentially its flat area covers some 1200 km2. The
water around Barr Al Hikman is very shallow and there are fringing reefs a
few kilometers from its southern beaches. There are two types of sabkhas,
continental and coastal sabkhas which are two or three meters above sea
level. The flatness of the area make it potential for the flooding when the
tide rises a few meters.
The weather in March is fine and nice in the areas close to the beach due to the
wind that blows from the sea. In the inner areas the weather is hot due to little
amount of vegetation and large open areas which cause more evaporation.
During the night hours the temperature decrease and it is cooler and wetter than
the day hours.The beaches are beautiful with fine white sand and shell fragments.
The area is characterized by shallow water depth in the southern parts where
you can see different marine creatures swimming around your legs. Different
creatures can be seen such as seagull, crabs, corals, bivalves and gastropods. The
beaches are not crowded and very few people visit the area so you can have a
calm night if you decide to camp there.
SQU students’ trip to Barr Al Hikman started from SQU in the afternoon
and the team included three instructors and seven students. It takes four
hours to reach Aljazeera Guest House in Mahout area. The Barr Al Hikman
is about 40 km from the Guesthouse. Seven sites were visited on the first
day: beach sands, coastal eolian sand dunes, eastern lagoon, coastal sabkhas
and inland salt pans. On the second day another three sites, Al-Hikman
Formation outcrops, beach rocks and the western lagoon, were visited.
Listening is Five Types! Which One Do You Do?
By: Jamila Al-Siyabi,
Course Coordinator, Language Centre
Talking about the fifth
habit of his well known
seven habits of the
highly effective people,
Covey (1990) suggests
that attempting to
understand
others
should
precede
demanding
to
be
understood by others.
He argues when people
listen, they do not
have the intention to
understand, but rather
to reply which goes
against the notion of
“empathic
listening”.
Their
listening
usually does not go
beyond four levels:
ignoring, pretending,
selective listening or
attentive listening. Empathic listening basically means that one
does not necessarily approve of what the other side is saying, but
that s/he completely and profoundly understands that person,
both emotionally and intellectually. In the process of empathic
listening, one senses feeling, meaning and behaviour (i.e. the deep
communication dimension of another human being).
or different degrees that can be presented in a continuum of
‘conflict’ in one side and ‘dispute’ in the other. Parents may
or may not try to impose their own values, beliefs, principles
and ways of looking at the world on their children. They may
create an atmosphere of dispute if they assume that their own
understanding and cultural values are the best and only for
their sons and daughters. On the other hand, they may also be
in various degrees of conflict if they allow some freedom for
their children to be the ones they are.
How about teachers? In other words, what type of listening do
teachers apply during their interaction with students? Actually,
the type of listening they adopt with their students reflects what
they are after in class. Do they listen when students bring up
issues related to textbooks they use, the syllabuses the course
follows or the assessment it adopts? What listening do they
practise when students talk about their learning difficulties and
the challenges they face and strive to overcome? Do teachers
emphatically consider their students’ ideas and suggestions
about what they would like to have in class or as homework
beside or even instead of what they currently have? Do they
ignore what students say, pretend they care, tend to be selective,
listen attentively or listen emphatically? How about you? What
do you think your listening style is?
Reference:
Covey, S. R. (1990). Seek first to understand, then to be understood. In S. R. Covey. The 7 habits
of the highly effective people. (pp. 235-260). Simon & Schuster: New York.
Families across cultures and probably in relatively similar
20 April 2011 P7
Straight Talk
Horizon:
Could you explain the purpose of your visit to this
university?
Dr. Niebler: We are here in order to learn more about Oman. We
are very fascinated about what you have achieved in your country
since His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said came to power 40 years
ago. We are delighted that Oman is following prudent politics.
And we are interested in that. In addition to that we would like to
find out in which areas the European Union and Oman can better
cooperate. We had a detailed discussion with the top brass of SQU
and we realised that there are areas of common interest in the
field of scientific research.We understand that at SQU, the faculty
is concentrating on various areas of concrete research and many
European Union nations have similar projects in their universities
and research institutions. Hence we think: why not try to find
synergies. The prospects of Omani and European Union students
working closely together should also be worked out in detail once
joint research projects with SQU are established.
Horizon: What is the next step in establishing links between SQU
and European universities?
Dr. Niebler: We will be passing the message to the European
Union through the European Parliament, and of course there will
be debates and discussions among us. In these discussions we will
try to make the collaborations operational. We will report the ideas
to the European Commission which is our executive body that is
responsible to carry out the plans related to research collaboration
and joint activities with SQU. The Commission will get into close
contact with SQU which will subsequently lead to signing of
agreements between the institutions which will pave the way for
more Omani students to pursue higher education in the European
countries. We believe that the European Union and Oman have a
lot of common interests to follow.
Horizon:
What impression you have in mind about the
development of the Sultanate of Oman?
Dr. Niebler: I am really happy for several reasons. I understand
that education and research are given top priority in the political
agenda of the nation. His Majesty really takes care that students are
given quality education and that is the reason why a major share of
the youngsters are provided with high quality university education
at the expense of the government. Education is the pathway to
nation building . I am astonished to find that nine colleges, which
follow a lot of interdisciplinary curricula, have been established in
the university which is only 25 years old. We are happy to hear
that SQU maintains a 50:50 female-male student ratio which sets
a good example for other developing societies in the region to
emulate.
Horizon: Can we expect that EU will come up with strengthened
partnership with Oman and SQU?
Dr. Niebler: The delegation for relations with the Arab Peninsula
has called for the expansion of political and economic ties with
Oman.. We believe that the EU should develop a more ambitious
strategy and include a strengthened partnership with the Oman.
Increased cooperation in research and training between Oman and
the EU is the need of the hour because this could develop greater
potential. We welcome the active participation of women and
young people in this process. We are particularly pleased about
the efforts of Oman on climate and environment related issues. As
the first country on the Arabian Peninsula, Oman has established
an environment ministry, which deals with water supply and
desalination and promoted an agenda that is designed to stimulate
awareness of environmental protection among the people.
Dr. Angelika Niebler
Dr. Angelika Niebler, member of the European Parliament visited SQU
recently, leading a delegation of European Union Parliamentarians.
Excerpts from her conversation with ‘Horizon’.