Salalah College of Applied Sciences , Institutional Standards Assessment, Sep 2019
 
Dr Maha Merghani Kobeil
 
Dr. Maha Kobeil, Dean, Majan College (University College), Muscat, earned her Ph.D. from the University of Manchester in Applied Linguistics and an MA from the University of Liverpool, UK. Her extensive experience in the areas of higher education, teaching, curriculum evaluation, planning and development, and institutional and programme quality assurance standards has spanned more than eighteen years.  She has expertise in the fields of English Language, Applied Linguistics, Quality Assurance, Teacher Education, and Student Counselling. She has supervised dissertations at Masters Level in Khartoum University and Al Neelain University in Sudan as well as undergraduate projects in Ahfad University and Majan College. Dr. Kobeil has been involved in the preparation of documentation for programme validations, institutional reviews and strategic planning. She also plays an active role in ensuring that quality assurance standards are adhered to. She has chaired and actively participated in Examination Boards in the Business and IT Faculties in Majan as well as being an external examiner for programmes in other institutions. She was instrumental in the preparation and implementation of the BA (Hons) in English Language and the validation of the Majan’s new Foundation Programme in 2003. Dr. Kobeil has contributed to the development of the English Language courses for the Colleges of Applied Sciences with the Ministry of Higher Education. She was a member of the working group for establishing the National Standards for General Foundation Programmes in Oman. Her research interests are in the areas of reading comprehension, information processing, critical thinking skills, and student learning styles.
 
Prof. Marios Katsioloudes
 


Professor Katsioloudes holds a PhD in Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in Strategy and International Business. He is currently a professor of Management at Qatar University, where he teaches strategic management, international business and entrepreneurship courses at the undergraduate and MBA levels. Throughout his 34-year career, Professor Katsioloudes has taught in a number of universities, including Coastal Carolina University, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, Saint Josephs’ University, Villanova University, USA; the American University of Sharjah, UAE, Abu Dhabi University, UAE, and the Hellenic American University in Greece. He is a visiting professor to the University of Cyprus, Galen University in Belize, Linkoping University in Sweden, EDHEC Business School in France, Tulane University in the USA, HEC-Paris in Qatar, and The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, Greece.  He has worked for the Cyprus Development Bank and the World Bank. He provided consulting services to SMEs in Cyprus, the US, Libya, Greece, the UAE, Qatar, and elsewhere. His research focuses on the strategic planning process in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, SMEs, entrepreneurship, as well as on the management of change and innovation. He has authored/co-authored five books, and recently he has signed a contract with Routledge for a second edition for his strategic management book. He published over 34 articles (including three cases studies) and 72 conference proceedings on strategic management, international business and small business management. He has been a reviewer for Universities in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. 

 
Dr Mohammed Al Habsi
 
I have accumulated over 33 years of intensive experience in different fields and specialties (diplomacy, media, marketing & advertising, tourism development, higher education, parliamentary work, business & consultancy, etc). geographically, I experienced the work with different cultures & destinations, in addition to my long experience in Oman I worked with different firms & organizations in Ireland, United Kingdom, Austria, Spain, France, Qatar, Bahrain, etc.). During these journeys I succeed to work with significant scholars (e.g., Peter Burns, Graham Dann, Anthony Seaton, Peter Masson, Heinz Boyer, etc); executives (e.g. Maqbool Ali Sultan, Juma Aal Juma, Bernhard Klefasz, Carlos Vogler, Ahmed Al Meharzi, Dr Abood Al Sawafi_ etc) ; institutions & universities (e.g., AL Yarmouk University (1986-1989) DIT Ireland (1995-1996), University of Luton (1999-2004), (IMC & ITM Austria, Oman Tourism College 2004-2011), Brighton University (2011-2012), Sharqiyah University (2008-2011) , Muscat University (2009-2010), University of Buraimi (2008-2010 & 2020-2021), & organizations (e.g. Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1989-1994), Ministry of Commerce & industry (1994-2004), Ministry of Manpower (2004-2011), A`Shura Council (20012-2016), Qatar Tourism Board (2011-2012), AEP Austria (2004-2012), World Tourism Organization (WTO)-2008, THR Tourism Advisory company/ Spain (2019-2020) & Oman Tourism Development Group (OMRAN) - 2020-2021. Of the Research activities, I participated in many conferences and seminars locally and internationally, the presented papers exceeded 43 scientific and specialized papers in several fields such as investment, public policies, vocational training, tourism education, tourism impacts, tourism & economy, tourism & societies, destination images and imageries, travel writing the representations of Oman in British media, etc.
 
Dr. Nicola Huson
 
Dr. Nicola Huson is currently a researcher and lecturer at the Institute for German Language at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Prior to this Dr. Huson was an Assistant Professor at the University of Nizwa at CAS (Department for Foreign Languages). Previously and for many years she was a DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Lecturer & representative in the Middle-East, i.e. at the German Jordanian University, Amman, Jordan, the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) & the at La Manouba University in Tunisia. Other positions include Head of German; educational consultancy for the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ former GTZ/IS) with the Qatar Supreme Educational Council; PhD programme coordinator at the Bielefeld Graduate School for Economics and Management (BiGSEM), Bielefeld University, coordinating and lecturing in the German language section at the Eastern Mediterranean University in North Cyprus and working as a project manager for staff and organisation development in several EU projects with a German Company (REGE mbH). Dr. Huson holds a PhD and Master Degree in Applied Linguistics (German as a Foreign Language) from Bielefeld University in Germany. She is a member of the International Association of Germanists and has published several papers and attended conferences on Foreign Language Education and Intercultural Competence. 
 
Dr. Patsy Paxton
 
Dr Patsy Paxton, a Higher Education Consultant based in New Zealand, has a PhD in Education, and her academic quality expertise includes over 20 years’ experience with academic quality issues in the New Zealand and South African tertiary education sectors. She is the former Director of the South Pacific College of Natural Medicine in Auckland, New Zealand (2011-2019).  From 2007 – 2011 she served as the Senior Researcher on the South African Norway Tertiary Education Development (SANTED) project, based at the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) in South Africa. Here she was responsible for facilitating the development of coherent approaches to curriculum consolidation as well as appropriate articulation pathways between various programmes. Amongst her many responsibilities as the Academic Director at the Auckland University of Technology (1999-2007), she managed the planning and preparation for the University’s NZUAAU comprehensive academic audit in 2001 and 2006. From 1995 – 1999 Patsy was the Academic Manager at the Waikato Institute of Technology. Before emigrating to New Zealand in 1995, she was a full professor in the Vista University (South Africa) Faculty of Education (1986-1995). Her early years (1974-1986) were spent as a senior teacher of the Economic Sciences (Economics, Business Studies, Commerce). She is committed to academic quality audit and quality assurance principles in higher education and has had extensive experience in conducting academic quality reviews and audits. From her own practical experience, Patsy has a deep understanding of the challenges that often arise when quality management theory and policies are applied to institutions’ daily operations.