SQU forum on projects backed by HM fund
MUSCAT: The Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) is organising the ‘Forum on Projects Funded by His Majesty’s Trust Fund for Strategic Research’ on March 13, Tuesday.
The forum is being held under the auspices of Shaikh Khalid bin Hilal al Maawali, Chairman of the Majlis Ash’shura.
SQU, represented by the Office of Deputy Vice-chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Research, is organising it.
Dr Rahma al Mahrooqi, Deputy Vice-chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Research at SQU, said the forum is part of the efforts to enhance research culture at SQU in particular and in the Sultanate in general.
While seeking to strengthen cooperation between SQU, community and other institutions, it will highlight the benefits of research conducted by SQU faculty and researchers.
The forum will also motivate researchers across SQU to submit their research proposals to the fund while informing them about the rigorous evaluation process all proposals undergo.
Dr Rahma said since its establishment until 2015, 77 projects have been supported by the fund.
The forum will shed light on some of the projects funded by His Majesty’s Trust Fund.
It will feature presentations from educational, humanitarian, scientific, and medical fields.
The forum’s first session will see three presentations.
The first one will be on critical thinking and skills development among the SQU students, while the second will focus on the effectiveness of design and use of new software for learning Arabic at Oman’s first basic education schools.
The third presentation will look at lifestyles, including physical activity, nutritional habits, sedentary behaviour and BMI (body, mass, index) among 15-17-year-old students in Oman.
The second and third sessions include presentations on examination of the role of disclosures in Muscat Securities Market, the assessment of potential application of LEAN thinking in the Omani healthcare sector, characterisation of meteorites, anti-cancer properties of natural products isolated from date fruits, value-added functional products from less utilised biomaterials and potential sources of plant pathogenic fungi and bacteria in Oman’s farms.
The programme offers a chance for an interactive discussion between presenters and the audience after each session.
At the closing ceremony, the participating researchers will be rewarded in recognition of their efforts, ideas and research projects aimed at achieving sustainable development in the Sultanate.
From the start of the fund’s application in 2001, the support that it has offered has allowed SQU to achieve a great deal in terms of strategic research that has benefited Oman in economic, social, humanitarian, cultural, industrial and other fields.
The results of research supported by His Majesty’s Trust Fund have also contributed to knowledge renewal and generation and development of innovative theories, applications and practices guided by latest data.
The support has also helped establish the foundation for centres of excellence in vital fields while contributing to the development of academic programmes at SQU.