Suhar: Sohar University (SU) is the first private higher education Institution in Oman to be an associate member of one of the entities of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN).
The move reflects its commitment to research excellence and international collaboration. This CERN entity is known as the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) research experiment which include the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator that is related to advanced specialised technology.
The R&D equipment and facilities available to CERN-CMS are the best advanced research equipment in the world, comprising very large facilities and equipment with a diameter of 14 metres and a length of 26.7 km, which are installed in a tunnel located 100 metres below the surface of the ground along the border between France and Switzerland and the total weight of the system is 14,000 metric tonnes. Certainly, research facilities similar in their sophistication and size to this system cannot be easily developed without allocating very large investment amounts that may reach the equivalent of the budgets of several countries in the world.
SU's associate-membership will enable the university researchers to have access and joint use of such an important research facility and thus enhance the position of the university and the Sultanate of Oman among higher education institutions and research centres in the world.
Dr Hamdan bin Sulaiman al Fazari, Vice Chancellor of SU, stressed that this partnership comes within the strategy of the university to promote scientific research and innovation, and provide opportunities for its students and researchers to benefit from the latest technologies and advanced laboratories at CERN-CMS, which contributes to the development of scientific knowledge and raising the level of national competencies in the technical and research fields. It also strengthens the university position as a leading university in scientific research and opens the doors to innovation and progress in the technological and scientific fields, which contributes to achieving Oman Vision 2040 and aims to upgrade the research, development and innovation ecosystem in the Sultanate of Oman.
Prof Ghassan bin Adnan al Kindi, SU's Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation, stated that CERN-CMS is associated with 247 higher education and research institutions from 58 countries, including the most prestigious universities and research institutes in the world.
Prof Ghassan stressed that the scientific and research collaboration within CERN-CMS is described as one of the largest international scientific collaboration projects in history. The ambitious collaboration plan developed by SU with CERN-CMS allows for the acquisition and transfer of knowledge and building the research and technological capabilities of the university's cadres and allows faculty, researchers and students to participate in various research in engineering and technological techniques in the relevant fields and to collaborate with elite scientists and researchers around the world. This, in turn, enables the university to contribute to the world's leading scientific experiments that aim to contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals and the goals of Oman Vision 2040.
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