Intl conference on communication opens at UTAS Salalah

A two-day virtual international conference titled “1st UTAS International Conference on Communication Studies: Media, Communication and Culture’ opened at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences (UTAS) in Salalah on Tuesday.

In his inaugural speech and message from the deanship, Dr Said Jaboob said, “The conference has been organised in accordance with the national priorities of developing and nurturing human capital to promote the scientific spirit and ignite innovation and inquiry.”

He further added that the conference objectives were derived from the Oman’s 2040 vision framework and alongside portrayed and promoted the core research aspirations of the UTAS.

Dr Ilhem Allagui of North Western University in Qatar, gave a keynote address and pointed out that the COVID-19 has tremendously changed the media landscape. She brought in many interesting observations as she discussed the increase in digital literacy as an impact of

COVID-19, growth in online advertising, and intensified and accelerated media consumption.

A total of 11 papers were presented by international participants from Qatar and India and national academics from various educational institutions from Oman in three sessions that discussed the distinct themes of ‘New media and society’, ‘Mass Communication’, and ‘Organizational Communication’.

The first session was chaired by Dr Nawal M Salaheldin, Head of the Department of Mass Communication in UTAS

Salalah.

During the other sessions, one of the presenters from Northwestern University in Qatar explored the influence of US education in selecting TV programme content by young Qatari students, on the other hand examining the role of different mass media in the dissemination of weather forecast information and its effects was an interesting topic of research. The overall conference sessions were coordinated by Dr Arafat al Jamil, Head of the Scientific Committee of the conference.