Industry Involvement in the IT Curriculum Review and Development
One major role of the IT Specialization Committee, Colleges of Technology (CoTs) is to oversee the currency and effectiveness of the IT Program in order to ensure that it is aligned with the job market requirements. The Committee is composed of the Heads of IT Department among the Colleges of Technology, the Private Sectors, and the specialized staff of the different disciplines of Information Technology (IT) among Colleges of Technology.
The IT Specialization Committee always endeavors to pursue excellence and development on its IT Program it offers. To this end, the Committee had organized a workshop entitled Industry Involvement in the IT Curriculum Review and Development held last 19th of June 2013, Wednesday, in the Multi-Purpose Hall of the Ministry of Manpower, Seeb. Specifically, the aims of the workshop were as follow: a) To get feedback on the proposed IT & IS programs; b) To Identify the Knowledge, Skills, & Values expected from the fresh IT & IS graduates; c) To improve the quality of the IT & IS programs & graduates; d) To strengthen the involvement of the industry in the development of the academic programs; e) To enhance the relationships between the CoTs and the industries; and f) To identify the areas of mutual interests and how the industry can support the education and training process in the CoTs.
A number of industry representatives had collaborated actively in the IT Curriculum Review/Development process during the workshop as follow: Mr. Yaqoob Amer Al-Zuhly (Manager, Infrastructure Management, Bank Muscat), Mr. Mirza Waqas Ahmed (Network and Data Center Manager, Oman Airports Management Company S.A.O.C.), Mr. Imthiyas P.K. (Senior Manager Business Systems and E-Commerce, Oman Air), Mr. Harish Sidhartha (Operations Manager, IITC-OHI Group), Mr. Aiman Omar Al-Zadjali (Department Head, IT CRM, Nawras), Mr. Turki Al-Yahmadi (Airports ICT Systems Specialist, Oman Airports Management Company S.A.O.C.), Mr. Said Al-Mandhari (Deputy General Manager, MidEast Data Systems), Mr. S. Aldrin Ramesh (IT Operations and Support Manager, Zubair Automotive Group), Mr. Hemant A. Maloor (IT Applications Manager, Zubair Automotive Group), Mr. Basim (ICT Specialist, Oman Airports Management Company S.A.O.C.), Mr. B.V. Subbarao (Head of Software, Bahwan IT LLC), Mr. Saji George (Business Operations Manager, Al-Khalili Technology LLC), Mr. Maher Al-Awad Al-Obaid (Assistant General Manager, MHD TI LLC), and Mr. Aatif Al-Balushi(Lecturer, MoM).
The following were the participants from the different Colleges of Technology: Dr. Azzah Al-Maskari (Head, IT Specialization Committee / Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs, Ibra College of Technology), Dr. Fatma Al-Abri (HoD-IT, Higher College of Technology), Mr. D. Gnana Rajesh (HoD-IT, Mussanah College of Technology), Dr. Mohammed Osman Al-Karam (HoD-IT, Ibra College of Technology), Mr. Viji Paul (HoD-IT, Salalah College of Technology), Mr. Gharib Al-Matroushi (HoD-IT, Shinas College of Technology), Mrs. Amal Al-Abri (HoD-IT, Ibri College of Technology), Mr. Talib Al-Mahruqi (HoD-IT, Nizwa College of Technology), Mr. Mohammed Tariq Shaikh (HoS-IT, Ibra College of Technology), Dr. Khalfan Al-Masruri (Head, Software Engineering Specialization Sub-Committee, HoS-IT, HCT), Mr. J. Lenin Fernando (Head, Networking Specialization Sub-Committee/ HoS, ACT), Mr. Mohammad Tariq (Head, IES Specialization Sub-Committee / HoS, NCT), Ms. Vinu Sherimon (Head, Database Specialization Sub-Committee / IT Lecturer, HCT), Mr. Amando P. Singun, Jr. (Head, IS Specialization Sub-Committee/ IT Lecturer, HCT), Mr. Abdul Rahiman Shaikh (Member, Software Engineering Specialization Sub-Committee/ IT Lecturer, HCT), Ms. Areej Al-Majed (Member, Software Engineering Specialization Sub-Committee/ IT Lecturer, HCT), Ms. Mary Amirtha Sagayee (Member, IES Specialization Sub-Committee/ IT Lecturer, HCT), and Dr. N. Girija (Member, Database Specialization Sub-Committee/ IT Lecturer, HCT).
The four (4) main agenda of the workshop had been completed satisfactorily as follow: 1) Welcome Address and CoT System Presentation by Dr. Azzah Al-Maskari (Head, IT Specialization Committee), 2) Presentation /Discussion on IT Diploma Program by Dr. Khalfan Al-Masruri (HoS-IT, HCT), 3) Presentation/Discussion on Bachelor Program by the Industry Representatives, the different Specialization Sub-Committee Heads/Members, and the HoDs, and 4) the IT Program Feedback Form duly completed by the Industry Representatives.
Based from the foregoing, we can deduce that an academe like the CoTs and the various industries in Oman can foster a mutual collaboration which may enrich the educational process in the Sultanate of Oman, bringing forth a sustained hope for the entire nation