MUSCAT: The Royal Academy of Management announced implementation of the first educational module ‘The National Programme for Developing Leaders and Future Foresight’ with 30 participants.
The programme is implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance in cooperation with Lenco Armored Vehicles Company, USA. This reflects the ministry's aspirations to build national capacities and competencies in all sectors, and transfer knowledge and best practices through partnerships that link the programme with leading institutions and companies around the world.
The implementation of the first educational module aimed to develop leadership skills in middle management departments within the state's managerial apparatus, in line with Oman Vision 2040, and to prepare staff to face a world of increasing complexity and change. Implementation of the programme is in partnership with the Ministry of Finance. Eller Executive Education, of the University of Arizona, has designed and is co-implementing the programme.
"The programme will play an important role in improving the government performance of units within the state’s managerial apparatus. This is in pursuant to His Majesty the Sultan’s generous directives, which emphasise the need to improve the government work system to provide better services that keep pace with world developments and benefit public interest. This programme will provide participants with the skills of systematic institutional thinking and leadership methods, driving change and innovation based on critical thinking, modern decision-making methods and strategic thinking," said Dr Ali bin Qassim al Lawati, President of the Royal Academy of Management.
The programme’s first cohort comprises 30 participants who hold positions including assistant general manager, department director, assistant director of a department, and the equivalent in the state's managerial apparatus, each nominated by their employer and who will have passed various stages of evaluation. Participants will undergo a learning journey which consists of five educational modules for a period of six months. These modules offer a variety of leadership skills and knowledge that can help candidates refine their abilities to face a variety of workplace challenges and develop work systems within middle management in the state’s managerial apparatus. This, in turn, will enable the candidates to maximise opportunities in the Omani economy, and to build bridges between the public and private sectors to advance competitiveness in the wider world.
Dr Yasmin al Balushi, Project Manager of ‘The National Programme for Developing Leaders and Future Foresight’, explained that the project would provide educational modules based on blended learning.
This includes the experience accelerator, individual and group coaching and personal interviews, in addition to research projects, and coaching and mentoring by experts from the private sector.
Candidates in the ‘Train the Trainer (Leadership) Programme’, launched by the academy earlier this year, will also participate in some modules of ‘The National Programme for Developing Leaders and Future Foresight’, giving them an opportunity to directly experience the process undertaken by training programme participants and to learn from the global experts.
Dr Karthik Kannan, Dean of the College of Management at the University of Arizona, which oversees Eller Executive Education, said, “We are proud to partner with the Royal Academy of Management in the Sultanate of Oman in implementing the ‘National Programme for Developing Leaders and Future Foresight’, which aims to develop and empower leadership in the public sector to achieve Oman Vision 2040.”
He also confirmed that the programme uses blended learning methods that combine direct training, online education and research projects, enabling participants to put their acquired skills into action. The programme is characterised by the use of multiple learning methods such as the experience accelerator, individual and group project business coaching, in addition to utilising mentors and coaches from outside of the public sector. “We are fully confident that the participants will be leaders with a resilient mindset, and they will be ambassadors for change, growth and development in the future,” Dr Karthik added.
Eller Executive Education is regarded as one of the best specialised centres in its field and was ranked 24th globally by the Financial Times in 2020 for customised executive education. It is one of the leading global providers in delivering organisational development solutions to companies and organisations around the world.
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