University of Nizwa, General Foundation Program Quality Audit, Feb 2019
 
Dr Amal Jassim Al-Gallaf
 

Dr Amal AL-Qallaf has held various academic positions in Schools and at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Bahrain. She has a rich experience in teaching since 1997 on different educational levels from pre-school to postgraduate in different countries such as the UK, Japan, and GCC. She is currently working at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland– Medical University of Bahrain. She started her university role as an English Language lecturer in 2009  as a coordinator for different areas such as Medical Terminology, Study Skills, English for Nursing and Medicine, Quality Management, Leadership, and Professional Development. She has developed many educational programmes and courses which support innovation and interactive technology-enhanced learning.  She then worked as a Quality Officer in the same university to develop quality culture and processes. Dr Amal holds a BA in English literature and Education, MA in Special Educational Needs, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Education. She has completed the ‘AdvanceHE Certificate in Learning and Teaching (CLTHE)’ course, which qualifies her as a trainer for higher education teachers. Her research focuses on interpreting gaps within higher education organisations from a multicultural/cross-cultural perspective. Through her PhD in Education, she studied Academic Administrators’ Leadership abilities that best enhance the quality of Teaching, Learning and Research in Higher Education Institutions. She is also interested in researching other educational areas such as Internationalisation of HEIs, Curriculum Development, Quality Management, Capacity Building, Organizational Culture, and Academic Leadership.  Dr Amal has been active in academic supervision for the  MSc programmes at the Institute of Leadership in RCSI. Dr Amal is a trained BQA panel member listed on the BQA website as a recognised reviewer and has a comprehensive understanding of internationally recognised quality processes. She has considerable experience developing and implementing effective internal and external quality reviews processes and structures in higher education institutions and education in general. 

 
Dr. Shaheen Motala-Timol
 
Dr. Shaheen Motala-Timol is a chemistry-trained higher education professional and quality assurance practitioner. She holds a PhD in Polymer Chemistry and has specialized in the study of novel biodegradable polylactones, focusing on the design of nano-sized copolymers with peptides. Her research work in polymer chemistry has been published in scholarly journals and she was awarded the TWAS Regional Office for Central and South Asia Office Prize in 2011. She also holds an advanced qualification in designing and facilitating e-Learning from the Open Polytechnic of New Zealand, as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development Practices in Public Policy, awarded by TERI University. As a subject specialist in Chemistry, she has worked at the University of Mauritius since 2008 as part-time lecturer, on different Chemistry-based modules. Shaheen worked at the Tertiary Education Commission since 2009 and in 2020, she moved to the newly established Higher Education Commission, where she is heading the Regulatory Affairs and Accreditation Division. She has over 12 years of expertise in regulatory matters such as accreditation and auditing, policy planning and development in the public and private higher education sector in Mauritius, and in international set ups. She is an advocate for inclusive and quality education for all.  She also works as an independent educational consultant for government agencies and serves as an external reviewer for international accreditation agencies, such as Oman Academic Accreditation Authority, the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, the Malta National Commission For Further and Higher Education, and the Turkish Higher Education Quality Council. She also conducted internal assessment of higher education institutions in the African continent under the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP) Africa Fellowship.She is an alumni of the Global Young Academy, which provides a rallying point for outstanding young scientists from around the world to come together to address topics of global importance. Shaheen was a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow (2016-2017) under the Fulbright Exchange Activity. She spent the 2016-2017 academic year at Pennsylvania State University, where she explored different aspects of higher education in the US, including internationalization and lifelong learning. She was also a visiting scholar at the Center for International Higher Education, Boston College. Her current research addresses the challenges and opportunities of cross-border higher education, and how these shape education policies in developing countries. 
 
Prof Vallavaraj Athinarayanan
 
Prof. Vallavaraj has been working in higher education institutions since 1987, both in India and Oman. In 1999, he joined Caledonian College of Engineering, Oman as a faculty member in Electronic Engineering; he has been instrumental in developing and offering the Bachelor Honours degree programmes in Electronic, Computer, Telecommunications and Electrical Power Engineering at the college. In 2009, he became the Associate Dean – Undergraduate Studies, and since then has implemented a number of quality improvement procedures and policies at the college that have provided an enhanced learning experience for students. He took a lead role in obtaining the IET and CIOB accreditations for the programmes offered at the college. As the Chair of the Learning and Teaching Committee, he has drafted the strategies for enhancing Learning, Teaching and Assessment, with a focus on improving pedagogical skills, use of technology in learning and teaching, and innovative approaches in engineering education. In 2011, he was nominated by the MoHE, Oman to review Engineering programmes of Al-Sharqiya University and the University of Buraimi Oman. Prof. Vallavaraj has authored a number of technical books, and published several research papers.He is a Senior Member of the IEEE (USA) and a life-member of ISTE (India).