Higher College of Technology, General Foundation Program Quality Audit, Feb 2021
 
Dr Ahmed Hassan Al Bulushi
 
Dr. Ahmed Hassan Al Bulushi is currently the Dean of Engineering College at Notational University of Science and Technology. Previously known as Caledonian College of Engineering in the Sultanate of Oman. He has a doctoral degree in management from the Argosy University, Chicago, US (2007) an MBA from Luton University, UK (1999) and B.Ed. from Bristol University, UK (1994). Dr. Ahmed is an experienced academic who started his career as an educator in 1986. His academic expertise is in Business & Education Management discipline and his research interests focuses on Leadership, HRM & HRD and Quality Management in Higher Education. Prior to joining Caledonian Dr. Ahmed was the Assistant Dean of the first private college established in the Sultanate, where he spent 15 years managing, teaching, researching, and developing academic programs, QA & organizational systems and standards. Dr. Al Bulushi is a recipient of internationally recognized Fulbright scholarship award and the Best Teacher Certificate awarded by the Ministry of Education, Oman. Most recently, he was awarded a professorial status from Glasgow Caledonian University, Scotland, UK in recognition of his outstanding work in Transnational Education (TNE). In addition, he is the founding member of Oman HE Quality Network (OHEQN) and served more than three years as a member of its Executive Committee. Dr Ahmed is an Ambitious, determined, Self-confident and self-reliant Chief executive with leadership capabilities. Preferring to act on his own, he loves to contribute for the development of Higher education sector in Oman by nurturing talents and build local capacity.

 
Dr Andrew Thomas
 
Educational Consultant and most recently Director of University of Sussex International Centre with a focus on student transitional experience and Pathway Programmes, (Foundation, Year 1 and pre-Masters). I oversaw successful validation of programmes and UK Higher Education Review (Embedded Colleges) outcome for 2018 and 2019 with reference to UK Office for Students whilst working across the university and partners to deliver enhanced student teaching learning and good degree outcomes for all students. Prior to this, I spent 17 years in the Gulf growing my teaching and senior leadership experience in Foundation/ Bridging programmes, student services and support, community learning, continuing professional development, employability skills and quality assurance and enhancement activities in UAE, Oman and Bahrain; finishing as Dean of Humanities at Bahrain Polytechnic and chair of institutional quality assurance. I carried out consultancy work with the Bahrain Ministry of Education to improve teaching and learning in state vocational colleges and with employers on the development of employability skills including English and Arabic. I have worked with the OAAA since 2010 on GFPQAs, Institutional Quality Audits and Institutional Standards Assessment as well as delivering training to new reviewers and acting as moderator and appeals panel member. I have an Ed.D in Educational Leadership and Management with a focus on cross-cultural management and leadership in Gulf contexts and have carried out management consultancy and training across the region. I am a Senior Fellow of the HEA with wide international experience of transformational and experiential learning, strategic planning and quality assurance and enhancement. 
 
Mr. John Gary Hindmarch
 
Gary joined the UK Merchant Navy in 1975 when he started an Engineering cadetship under the sponsorship of Canadian Pacific. After graduating in 1979, he gained his Second and Chief Engineer qualifications and attained the rank of Chief Engineer in 1986.  After sailing as Chief Engineer for three years, he undertook a position as Planning Engineer at a major production plant in the NE of England, and then a role as Engineering Superintendent for a UK based oil tanker Company. In 1993 he joined South Tyneside College as Lecturer and taught in a number of areas across the college. In 1996 he led the project for the new Engine Simulator installation at the College, and in 2000 the creation of the B.Eng programme which replaced the previous Extra Chief Engineer programme.  He was appointed Head of Faculty for Engineering in 2003.  He was a member of the College Senior Management Team and undertook a major re-organisation of the college programmes to correct an annual operational deficit position.  In 2006 his role expanded to include all maritime operations at the College and become Head of Marine College, a role held until 2010. During that time a number of new programmes were introduced. In 2012, he was appointed into a new role as Vice Principal, Maritime and Higher Education to lead on all maritime programmes, and all higher education programmes across all disciplines within the college. With a college merger in 2015 he was assigned the role of Principal, South Shields Marine School until his retirement in 2018. Externally he has the following roles within The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) on the local Branch level, and as Chair of the Membership Committee; Secretary and Director of the International Association of Maritime Institutions (www.iami.info ) which has 70 members worldwide in the field of maritime training and education. Director of the Maritime Skills Alliance (https://www.maritimeskills.org/ which oversees maritime training across the UK Chair of the Cadet Approval Committee and the Course Recognition Committee of the Merchant Navy Training Board (https://mntb.org.uk/mntb-recognised-courses/ 
 
Dr. Jurg Bronnimann
 
Dr. Jurg Bronnimann was Director of Higher Education at Batchelor Institute in Australia. until 2020, and is now a private consultant for HE.  He earned his doctorate in German (2002) from Massey University, NZ. Before entering the academic life Dr. Bronnimann was an Air Traffic Controller in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr. Bronnimann has been working in the tertiary education sector (Universities and Polytechnics) over the last 20 25 years. As well as having been He was a lecturer in German literature, language and culture he was and  the Programme Director for the Bachelor of Arts at Unitec in New Zealand, where he was responsible for the development of Majors in German, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and English as an additional language. Before moving to Bahrain to take up the post as Manager Curriculum Development, at Bahrain Polytechnic, Dr. Bronnimann was the Dean of Teaching and Learning at Unitec, New Zealand. Over the past 10 20 years Dr Bronnimann has been involved in numerous programme development projects from Certificate to Masters Level. He acted as a member of Academic Boards, Ethics Committees, Academic Standards Committees and he was a member of the Steering Committee for Unitec’s University Status Application. In his current role At Batchelor Institute Dr. Bronnimann is was responsible for all programmes and staff in HE. development, cultural training, online technologies development, resources production and literacy and numeracy education.  At Bahrain Polytechnic, Dr Bronnimann co-ordinated the development of all programmes and qualifications, advising on all aspects of purchase of programmes, developing curriculum related policies, developing mechanisms for ensuring quality and integrity of the curriculum as well as providing action plans for continual improvement and development of the curriculum. 

 
Dr Keith Sharp
 
Professor Keith Sharp is currently the Founding President of the British University of Bahrain.  Prior to this he was Head of the Academic and Executive Centre and the Quality Assurance Department at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance. Prior to this he held senior positions in several British universities, including the University of Gloucestershire where he was Faculty Dean and Associate Pro Vice Chancellor and the London School of Economics and Political Science where he was Director of University of London International Programmes. Professor Sharp has extensive experience of quality assurance in higher education. He worked with the Quality Assurance Agency of the UK for over 20 years as a subject specialist reviewer, institutional auditor and educational oversight reviewer.  He has acted as external examiner in more than ten universities in the UK and internationally at all levels including doctoral and has advised several universities on the management of quality and standards in transnational education. Professor Sharp is a graduate of the London School of Economics and the University of Edinburgh and remains active in teaching and research. 
 
Mr. Musa Abu Huzaima
 
Mr. Musa Abu Huzaima has served as a lecturer of English and Program Coordinator in the Foundation Program at Qatar University since 2012. He has also taught academic English courses at tertiary level in Saudi Arabia and Australia. His qualifications  include MA in Applied Linguistics from the University of Technology, Sydney - Australia; a Graduate Diploma in Interpreting and Translation from the University of Western Sydney; and Cambridge CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults).  At Qatar University, his duties involved overseeing the Foundation Program’s academic and administrative operations in regards to accreditation, curriculum development and design, program academic assessment, academic and strategic planning, faculty appraisal system, recruitment, and budgeting. A key area in which Musa contributed is maintaining CEA (The Commission on English Language Program Accreditation) accreditation status through conducting periodical self-study reports to ensure all academic as well as administrative standards are compliant with CEA prescribed standards. On a similar vein, Musa is an accredited professional interpreter and translator from NAATI (National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters) in Australia. He had provided translation and linguistic expertise to the legal field for a number of years. Currently, he is chairing the Quality Assurance and Control Committee at the Foundation Program at Qatar University.

 
Ms Najat Al Kalbani
 
Najat Al Kalbani has been teaching at Sultan Qaboos University since 1997. She holds an MA in TESOL Studies from the University of Queensland in Australia,  In addition to her teaching responsibilities at the Language Centre (known now as Centre for Preparatory Studies) Najat has also held a number of administrative positions. She served as Staff Allocation Officer, Deputy Director, Chair of Social Committee and Chair of Extra Activities Committee. Najat was among the founding members of the annual Oman ELT Conference which started in the year 2001. She served as the Conference Chair in  its 3rd and 4th editions and again in its 11th and 12th editions. Najat currently holds the position of Head of Community Service Unit. Najat’s research interests include student and teacher motivation, organizational communication and quality management in higher education.
 
Dr. Najwa Sami Dham
 
Najwa S. Dham has been an International Consultant, a Dean of Academic Research and Publishing, Associate Professor, Director of Institutional Effectiveness, EFQM Lead Senior Assessor for the last twenty five years. Along with teaching and research, some of her responsibilities have been: to assess education systems, restructure them, implement quality measures in education, support instructional enhancement, assure the achievement of the educational outcomes, lead accreditation nationally and internationally, conduct and manage organizational self-studies, enhance professional development opportunities, etc. She conducted and participated in a number of research projects and she presented in some national and international conferences. Her research interests focus on educational administration and leadership, total quality management, education and social integration, technology of education, curriculum development, etc. She has authored/co-authored many publications, books, articles, technical reports; edited, Arabized and supervised the publishing of over 25 books; organized and managed many international scientific conferences; managed six international refereed Journals of Excellence and edited the International e Journal of Excellence in Education. She has been active in the Quality/Excellence arena for long time as International Consultant and Lead Assessor. She has been an active member of many professional societies and associations of education, research, and quality management. She has earned her Doctorate and Master`s degrees, in Educational Administration from SUNNY at Buffalo, NY; Graduate Diploma in Educational Administration and Supervision from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. 
 
Dr. Philida Schellekens
 
Dr Philida Schellekens is an independent consultant, author, researcher and teacher trainer. Her core area of expertise is the teaching of English and other languages in educational contexts, vocational training and the workplace. In addition to her language work, Philida has worked as an Ofsted inspector since 2003, inspecting EFL and ESOL, maths, foreign languages and British sign language. Since 2015, she is a lead inspector for Ofsted and assesses the quality of education, and leadership and management across all 16+ education and training. She inspects educational provision across all GCSE and A’ levels, as well as vocational training, eg engineering, construction, hotel & catering, and health & social care. She has acted as a consultant with many colleges in the UK on effective teaching and learning, quality management and language in the curriculum. Internationally, Philida has worked in the Middle East, India, Vietnam, Libya and Tunisia, on language in TVET, commerce and industry.  For example, in 2015 she led a team of consultants in Saudi Arabia to develop the capacity of English language provision across KSA`s colleges of excellence.  She created a strategy for the Libyan government in 2013 to improve the quality of English teaching from secondary school to HE. Philida has published widely.  Her publications include Language in Construction (2004); The Oxford University Press ESOL Handbook (2007); Cause and Effect: The Impact of the Skills for Life Strategy on Language Assessment” Studies in English Language Testing (2009) CUP; and Teaching and Testing the Language Skills of First and Second Language Speakers (2011) Cambridge Assessment. Philida is a senior adviser to the British Council and is a member of its English Language and Advisory Group. Since Sept 2020 Philida works for the Education and Training Foundation as its National Head for English and ESOL. 

 
Prof. Rudolf Fleischer
 
Prof. Dr. Rudolf Fleischer is a full professor in the Department of Computer Science at the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) where he served as Head of the Computer Science Department 2012-2016 and Dean of Engineering and Computer Science 2013-2016. He obtained his Master`s degree in computer science (CS) in 1988, his PhD in CS in 1993, and his CS habilitation degree in 1999 at the University of Saarbruecken in Germany. From 1988 to 1989 he studied Chinese at Peking University in China. Prior to joining GUtech in 2011, he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbruecken, the University of Waterloo in Canada, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Fudan University in Shanghai. He has published more than 100 papers in international journals and conferences in the areas of theoretical computer science, algorithmics, and computer science education, he has served on the program committees of many major conferences, organised several international conferences, and is serving as an associate editor of the journals "Computational Geometry: Theory and Applications" and "Frontiers of Computer Science". He is a Senior Member of the ACM and an Internal Assessor of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM).
 
Dr. Salim Abdullah Al-Naibi
 
Dr. Salim Abdullah Al-Naibi works for the Ministry of Higher Education, Oman, in the College of Applied Sciences, Nizwa (CAS-Nizwa). He is an Associate Professor of Educational Technology. He worked as a Dean of CAS-Nizwa from July 2005 to June 2008 and from July 2011 to June 2014. Before that he worked as a Deputy Director General for the Colleges of Education for one year from 2003 to 2004, and the Head of the Learning Resources Centre in CAS-Nizwa from 1995-2003. From 1985 to 1995 he worked in the Ministry of Education as a teacher and a supervisor of English in general education, as well as a teacher trainer.He received a B.Ed. in the teaching of English as a second language (TESL) from Bristol University, UK in 1990 and an MA in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) from the Ohio State University, USA in 1994. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Technology from the University of Birmingham, UK in 2002. His research interests are in educational technology, e-learning and teacher education.