Sohar University, Institutional Standards Reassessment I, Aug 2019
 
Mr. Kieran Ross
 
Mr Kieran Ross is an Australian educated management professional (Master of Business Administration, Master of Quality Management, PG Certificate in Higher Education and a Bachelor of Economics (Accountancy)) with over ten year’s experience in the Australian Government Sector and almost twenty years international experience within the higher education sector in the United Arab Emirates. Extensive experience, has been acquired, in respect of meeting institutional and/or program accreditation requirements across the Australian, British, United Arab Emirates and Oman national accreditation systems. Mr Kieran Ross has successfully undertaken Managerial roles in both Administrative (Manager of Institutional Research and Quality, Manager of Academic Planning and Policy and as a Quality Manager) and Academic (Lecturing and as Campus Programme Co-ordinator Undergraduate (General Business) fields; with international (Australian and English) and local higher education institutions within the United Arab Emirates. Mr. Kieran Ross is currently the Registrar at the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government in Dubai. Research has focused on marketing in education and identifying factors that provide a deeper understanding of the issues that higher education institutions face in providing a challenging and satisfying student learning experience. 
 
Prof Roger J. Field
 
Professor Roger J Field is formerly Vice-Chancellor of Lincoln University, New Zealand (2004-2012) and currently a Consultant and Director of C&R Education & Consulting Ltd. He was previously Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Lincoln University and held a number of other senior positions including Professor of Plant Science from 1986. He was Chair of Universities New Zealand (2008-2009) and Chair of the Committee on University Academic Programmes (2003-2007), which sets the academic policy and academic quality assurance agendas for New Zealand universities and liaises with a number of Government agencies on behalf of Universities New Zealand. He was an inaugural academic auditor for the Australian Universities Quality Agency (2001-2004), currently an auditor for the Academic Quality Agency for New Zealand Universities and has chaired and/or been a member of audit panels and external reviews in Australia, Austria, Denmark, New Zealand and Samoa. He has been a member of the University Quality Assurance International Board of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai 2008-2020 and formerly a Specialist for the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications. He has wide governance experience as director of education, research and technology-linked companies and supported a wide range of organisations including membership of the New Zealand Government Growth and Innovation Advisory Board (2008) and a member of the Council of the Association of Commonwealth Universities (2008-2010). He has wide international experience and has acted as a technical consultant on education and research issues in many countries in Europe, North and South East Asia and the Pacific. 
 
Dr Saleh Al Khusaiby
 
Dr Saleh Mohammed Al Khusaiby graduated in 1974 from University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and joined the Ministry of Health in Oman in 1976.  Dr Saleh was awarded the Diploma of Tropical Child Health from the University of Liverpool in 1980 and was awarded a higher degree MRCP (UK) in 1982.  He sub-specialized in Pediatric Neonatology at the University Hospital in London where he undertook research on Perinatal Mortality and Morbidity and was awarded PhD in 1992 from the University of London.   In 1989 Dr Saleh was appointed as a Consultant Pediatrician and Head of Neonatal services in the Ministry of Health and was responsible for the development of the neonatal services in Oman.  He later became the Head of Child Health and was extensively involved in developing all child health programs.  He was made the Deputy DG of the Royal Hospital in Muscat, involved in the administration of the hospital.   Within the Ministry of Health, Dr Saleh was elected to chair many national committees and participated extensively in the organization and improvement of the health services in the country.  Dr Saleh has actively contributed in postgraduate and undergraduate teaching and training.  In September 2004, Dr Saleh was seconded by the Ministry of Health and appointed to join the Oman Medical College as Dean.   Dr Saleh has been an examiner of both national and international Boards of Examinations.  He is currently Chief Organizer and Examiner of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (UK).  He has received a number of International Awards, including the Charles C. Shepard Science Award (CDC 2002) and was honored in 2004 by the World Health Organization.  In 2006, he was appointed as a member of the Oman Research Council (Health and Social Services) and also appointed as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Oman Medical Specialty Board.
 
Dr Taki Al Abduwani
 
Prof. Taqi Al Abduwani, Chartered FCIPD is a former Dean of Gulf College. Currently, he is the Chairperson of the Oman Association for Quality in Higher Education.  He is the Deputy Chair- Board of Directors & Member- Board of Trustees, Gulf College.He is the Chairperson of Gulf Specialized Hospital. He is also a full time Business Studies lecturer both in the undergraduate and postgraduate studies. He has held several significant posts, including Managing Director for the first privatised higher educational institution in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Prior to this, he worked in several government organisations in various designations such as Co-Opted Member and Executive Committee member at OQNHE, Director of Human Resources, Director of Training, and Director of Follow-up and Administrative Regulations. He obtained his PhD Degree in Education from University of Reading, UK (2009). His dissertation delved on assessing the role of the soft component of human capital theory and explains the differences in soft skill endowment in Oman. He obtained his Master’s Degree in Business Administration (Finance) from University of Lincolnshire, UK in 1998 and his first degree from North East Wales Institute of Higher Education, UK. He has Certified Chartered Fellow Membership from Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD) UK and Certified Management Accountant Membership from the Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Australia, as well as being a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, USA, and the Arabian Society for Human Resource Management. He is also a member of the Club of Rectors of Europe and external programme reviewer of Association of Arab Universities. To date, he has published research papers in various international refereed journals and presented research papers in international conferences. Moreover, he is a member of various professional bodies and a reviewer for a number of international refereed journals. He has also been a resource person in several international seminars, workshops and conferences on topics relating to soft skills, human resource development issues and localisation of jobs in GCC countries. His sessions include ownership and management of businesses, small business incubators, teaching methods, managing your teaching profile, research ethics, plagiarism and over-marking.