Sur College of Applied Sciences, General Foundation Program Quality Audit, Oct 2019
 
Mr Adam Spowers
 
Mr Adam Spowers earned his BA from Durham University, UK, in 1981 – 1984 and a Graduate Diploma in Finance from Securities Institute of Australia in 1995 – 1999. In 2001-2002, he successfully passed Series 7 & Series 63 exams from New York Stock Exchange.  From 1981 to 1990, Adam worked as Commissioned Officer of The Life Guards in British Army. He was appointed as Communications Analyst in International Data Corp in Sydney. He was also a motivating force behind the globalisation of HSBC’s telecoms as a Telecom Media & Technology Analyst in HSBC bank in Australia, UK & US, for nine years from 1994 to 2003.  At the beginning of 2005, Adam was appointed as Corporate Adviser for Caliburn Partnership in Sydney - a post he held until 2009. In the period from 2009 until 2012, he became the Managing Trustee for The SCT, a UK-based charity, with conservation education objectives. After that, he held the position of Operations Manager in Consultel, Oman from 2012 to 2015. Adam works currently as an Independent Consultant in UK and Oman. Adam is interested in exploration and remote area travel. His achievements in this area include crossing the Sahara desert in 1980 and the use of vehicle-mounted satellite navigation in deserts 35 years ago and a laptop-based moving map solution (fully integrated into the vehicle with roof-mounted GPS) in his desert trips a decade ago. He has developed extensive expertise in technology solutions available nowadays. He also has regional and cultural interests. He studied Islamic Civilisation and Middle Eastern Anthropology at university. 

 
Dr. Baghdad Benstaali
 
Dr Baghdad Benstaali is currently a Quality Assurance Expert supporting Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) improve academic programs performance and enhance institutional effectiveness. He has an extensive academic and research experience learning, teaching, disseminating research findings and sharing best practices acquired in different parts of the world (Europe, Maghreb, Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, and USA). He occupied several managerial positions in HEIs and international organisms. He managed Tempus and Erasmus+ European programmes providing guidance and support to higher education grant holders of capacity building projects aiming to improve governance and management, develop quality assurance policies and procedures, apply competency-based programs, implement continuous improvement processes, assess students learning competencies and skills, and establish relationships with external partners. He provided the strategic direction on quality assurance, leadership for programs self-study and institutions evaluations to achieve accreditation. He conducted several assignments as Reviewer and Evaluator with international accreditation organisms/agencies. He is an Associate Professor of Physics and Analytical Instrumentation, an alumnus of the University of East Anglia (UK) and a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at the University of Rouen in France.
 
Emeritus Professor Debbie Clayton
 
Debbie Clayton has worked in the University and Government sectors, and as a consultant and director of Clayton International, a private Education Consulting Company. Her consulting has a focus on quality assurance and accreditation systems as well as Transnational Education and she works with public and private institutions, as well as onshore and offshore governments. She is an international reviewer and external expert for the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority, the New Zealand Universities Academic Quality Agency, the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, the Quality Assurance Council of the University Grants Committee in Hong Kong, and Papua New Guinea’s Department of Higher Education Science and Technology. In Australia, she was an Australia Universities Quality Agency auditor and a member of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Establishment Taskforce. She is currently on the register of TEQSA’s external experts for onshore and offshore International Education, corporate governance, and third-party arrangements.  She is the Independent Chair of the Accreditation Committee for Queensland Prevocational Medical Accreditation which accredits prevocational medical intern programs for the State of Queensland to standards set by the Medical Board of Australia. 
 
Ms Gweneth O’Gorman
 
Gweneth is currently the Director of Institutional Planning and Effectiveness at Sohar University (SU).  Her previous positions at SU have included: Manager, Quality Assurance, and Lecturer, General Foundation Programme. Prior to working in Oman, Gweneth spent several years working in Italy where some of her positions included Lecturer, Universita Cattolica del Sacre Cuore, Rome, Italy and Lecturer at Loyola University Chicago, John Felice Rome Center, Rome Italy.  Before this she held other positions in banking and financial institutions in the UK and Ireland. Gweneth holds an MA in International Relations and Diplomatic Studies from the University of Leicester, a Bachelor degree in International Affairs from John Cabot University, Italy, a Diploma in Banking and Financial Services, from University College Dublin in collaboration with the Institute of Bankers Ireland, and a Diploma in Business and Marketing, from the Limerick Institute of Technology.  She also holds a Teaching of English as a Foreign Language Diploma from the TEFL Institute Dublin, Ireland. Gweneth is a member of several professional organisations including the Chartered Quality Institute in the UK, and the Project Management Institute.
 
Mr. Ian Smallwood
 
Mr. Smallwood is currently Deputy Director of Learning and Teaching Enhancement and Head of Academic Quality at the University of Hull, UK., where he is responsible for all aspects of the design and implementation of the University’s Quality, Standards and Regulatory Frameworks, including all programme validations and approvals. He has worked in both teaching and academic/professional services roles for over 35 years in institutions in the UK, Africa, Sweden, Hong Kong and Iraq. Immediately before joining the University of Hull, he was the Registrar of the University of Kurdistan, Northern Iraq, previously being employed as Associate Director with Kaplan International Colleges, within the Centre for Learning Innovation and Quality and with particular responsibilities for Foundation-level programmes. For much of his career he has also worked as an English language and academic skills consultant with Regional and National Education Authorities and as an author with Macmillan Publishers and Cambridge University Press. His commercial publications include over 30 English Language and Academic Skills course books and 10 works of children’s fiction written specifically for non-native speakers of English. 

 
Dr. Khalid Almashikhi
 
Dr. Khalid Almashikhi is the Dean of College of Arts and Applied Sciences (CAAS) at Dhofar University since 2017. Prior to being appointed as Dean, Dr. Khalid served Dhofar University in several positions: Assistant Dean of CAAS, Head of Education Department, Director of Center of Continuing Education and Community Service. Dr. Almashikhi is the Director of Center for Teaching and Learning and in charge of the Unit for Students with Disabilities. Dr. Khalid has published several research articles in international peer-reviewed journal in the fields of leadership, teaching and Learning. He has presented in various national, regional, and international conferences. He is actively associated with ongoing research projects in Oman and abroad. Dr. Almashikhi has guided several masters’ thesis and has served as an externalexaminer to many masters and PhD theses in Oman and abroad. Dr. Khalid has won Anderson- Gouttierre Award, USA in 2009 and the best graduate award from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA in 2015 where he graduated with a Doctorate in Educational Leadership. Dr. Khalid is the founder of Future Leaders program(FLP) in Oman. The FLP is a youth leadership program for high school students that started in 2013. In the last 6 years, Dr. Khalid has delivered and conducted more than 100 workshops, lectures, and training sessions in schools, and at different NGOs, and government and private organizations. He serves as a member of several committees at the university and in the community.
 
Dr. Khalid Ahmed Al Mutawah
 
Dr Khalid Al Mutawah has a technology, business visionary and strong records of success in creating robust IT architectures and infrastructures. Proven ability to bring the benefits of IT to solve business issues while managing costs and risks. Led development and deployment of custom apps for organizations. 18 years of experience including ICT operations, Senior Data Analyst, Research & Academic services and Director of information technology. He worked as Assistance Professor and Director of Information Technology at University of Bahrain and Senior Director in Quality Assurance Authority. He is currently the Director of Governance and Enterprise Architecture in Information and eGovernment Authority where he contributed to many enterprise projects at national levels in the field of information technology and communications, and established an ICT Governance framework for the Government of Bahrain.   Dr Khalid received his tertiary education in Computer Science, E-commerce Technology, and Information Systems in Bahrain, United Kingdom and Australia. He was awarded the Chevening Scholarship from British Council in Bahrain for Master Research at Essex University. He conducted a PHD studies at Monash University in Data mining for Enterprise Networked Systems. He also has several professional qualifications including, ITIL, Oracle, and CMI.    Dr Khalid won the e-Concept excellence award in 2012. He is a jury member of Sh. Nasser Award for Innovation in Science from 2011 to 2014. He also contributed as a jury member in the National Robotics Competitions in Bahrain and in the World Robotics Olympiad in Malaysia. He also contributed in the National project for Online Child Safety with TRA-Bahrain in 2011. He also participated on more than 12 academic reviews in Bahrain with distinct roles where chaired three institutional listings, four ICT qualifications validation, four follow up reviews for ICT programmes, and an ICT department review for a college in Bahrain.   Dr Khalid is a Data Scientist with primary interests in data mining techniques, decision support systems and Business Intelligence. He published more than 10 articles in various ICT fields, and invited as speakers in several scientific conferences. He also elected as the Vice Chair of ACM Professional Chapter Gulf Region (2009 -2011), Professional IEEE member and Professional ACM member, and Board member of Technology and Business Society in Bahrain. 
 
Ms Nabila Mohammed Al Macki
 
Nabila Al Macki, Deputy Dean (Academic Affairs) at Majan University College, Muscat, earned her MBA (Financial Management) from the University of Hull, UK. In 2018 she became a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). She has a rich teaching experience, particularly in the areas of Finance, Accounting, Human Resource Management, and Leadership, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Her research interests include curriculum development, teaching, learning and assessment strategies, leadership and staff development. In addition to teaching, she has also supervised undergraduate projects at Majan University College. Ms Nabila has the experience of preparing documentation for programme validation, institutional reviews and annual evaluation of academic programmes and quality audits. She has also chaired Examination Boards.  Through her work at Majan University College, frequent cooperation with senior managers at the University of Bedfordshire, and awareness of practices at other HEIs, Ms. Nabila has acquired extensive knowledge of UK quality assurance procedures and of higher education systems and standards in Oman. Ms Nabila is a member of the Ministry of Higher Education register of subject specialists for academic programme licensing in Oman. She is also an external reviewer with the Oman Authority Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Education.
 
Dr. Sadiq H. Midraj
 
Dr. Midraj is an Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction (Language Education) in the College of Education at Zayed University.  He teaches in the graduate and undergraduate teacher education programs.  His University professional service has included Professional Development Coordinator, and Chair and Committee Member on various College and University Committees and Task Force teams. Until recently he served as Quality Assurance Coordinator and ELL Program Lead, and he worked as the Director of the Center for Professional Development. His outreach professional community service has included Consultant to the UNESCO Office in Beirut on quality assurance standards for education units; external reviewer of scholarly work; reviewer of the UAE Ministry of Education K-12 standards; and Consultant to Bidaya Media- Abu Dhabi/ Sesame Street- New York on the research of media for young learners.  He has been a Judging-Panel Member, Chair and Consultant to Khalifa Award for Education in the UAE.  He has also served as an External Faculty Promotion Committee Member, Accreditation Panel Member for the NAQ & QA of Education and Training in Bahrain, an International QA Review Panel member for the OAAA in Oman, and an international program accreditation chair for the NCAAA in the KSA.  Dr. Midraj has given Keynote, Featured, and Session Chair of invited and refereed presentations and workshops at local, regional, and international conferences.  He has published on the role of accreditation, outcomes-based education, assessing bilingual literacy, and the language-learner variables. His research interests include the teacher-education, constructivist learning, self-efficacy, quality assurance, and assessment.