SQU Council holds meeting

MUSCAT: The Council of Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) adopted at its second meeting for the academic year 2017-2018, chaired by Dr Rawya bint Saud al Busaidiyah, Minister of Higher Education, and Chairperson of the University Council, the introduction of a new specialisation (Psychological Counseling) within the Master of Arts programme in psychology at the College of Education. The course will meet the needs of students and relevant health and educational institutions. The course will be based on practical experience. It is one of the evaluation criteria used in judging the level of the candidate. It is also an essential element for granting the certificate of practicing the profession.

The Council also approved the upgrading of the Medical Education and Information Systems Unit in the College of Medicine and Health Sciences to an academic department to be called ‘Department of Medical Education and Information Systems’ to enhance the role of medical education in the college. On the other hand, it was agreed to establish a recycling center at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in cooperation with Be’ah, which aims to reduce consumption and preserve the environment in the community by improving and preparing the consuming tools of the community to reuse them before taking them out and finally disposing of them. On the other hand, it aims at promoting the concept of volunteer work, which will contribute to the activation of the university strategy to spread the culture of sustainable development.

Meanwhile, Dr Rawya also recently met a delegation from University College Dublin(UCD), in Ireland. The meeting was attended by Lara Bint Ghassan Obaidat, Director-General of the General Directorate of Scholarships, Khalid bin Ali Al Shaqsi, Director of External Scholarships, and Ahmed Bin Khamis Al Qaitaiti, Assistant Director of the Department of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Higher Education. During the meeting, several areas of cooperation were discussed with the Irish delegation, particularly the University’s desire to increase the number of Omani students studying in medicine.