A`Sharqiyah University, Institutional Standards Assessment, Mar 2023
 
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.
 
Mr Chris McIntyre
 
Chris McIntyre was Dean of Cultural Affairs and member of the Office of the Vice Chancellor at the University of Hertfordshire, and previously Vice Principal of Loughborough College of Art and Design.  His academic background is in the History and Theory of Art and Design. At UH Chris built and developed of a new arts faculty focussing on professional concerns and responding to contemporary discipline issues. Chris also held portfolios for Staff Development, Marketing and Communications and Academic Quality Enhancement and chaired the Ethics Committee, Academic Quality Enhancement Committee, the Film and Digital Media Exchange and UHArts. Independently, Chris has worked in management, institutional development and academic quality for organisations in the UK and in Spain, China, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Russia and Malaysia. He currently works for national and international quality agencies as an auditor and reviewer. Recently, Chris has undertaken management and development work with a range of UK and international universities and agencies, including the University of the Creative Arts, the University of the Arts, London, the University of the Highlands and Islands and the University of the West of England. He is also a member of, and recent chair of the Academic Board of Arden University. Chris has an interest in creative professional development and has Board experience with the Crafts Council, Regional Arts Boards, Edexcel, the Arts Council of England, Theatre Is…, St Albans  School and the Museum of St Albans and continues to volunteer for local arts and education charities. 

 
Dr Christopher Deery
 
Chris Deery BDS, MSc, FDS RCS Ed, PhD, FDS(Paed Dent) RCS Ed, FDS RCS Eng, FHEA After graduating, I worked in primary dental care. I worked at the DHSRU, University of Dundee and became a Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry at Edinburgh Dental Institute in 2001 and took up a Chair in Paediatric Dentistry at University of Sheffield in 2006.  I had the honour of being appointed Dean of the School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield in 2015. I was the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry for 7 years from 2010. I am a member of the Editorial Boards of Dental Update and Evidence based dentistry. I have been the Chair of Dental Schools Council, UK & Ireland and the Consultants in Paediatric Dentistry Group UK. Research has always been my key driver I have over £8 million of grant income from 29 successful grant applications. I have 293 publications, including National Clinical Guidelines and 8 books. I am responsible for supervising 9 PhD and 17 Masters students over my career. 
 
Dr. Kiran Gopakumar Rajalekshmi
 
Dr. Kiran G.R. holds a PhD in Information Systems from the London School of Economics & Political Science, UK. He did his MPhil in Applied Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi and his B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering, from College of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET), University of Kerala. He brings around 25 years of vast experience from his key roles at national and international levels in areas relating to higher education management, teaching, research, strategic policy development, quality assurance, social computing, governance reforms, e-governance, and ICT for development. He is currently the Dean of Middle East College (MEC), which is one of the largest Higher Education Institutions in the Sultanate of Oman. Dr. Kiran has been part of the governance bodies of MEC and has been a key member in the development of two five-year strategic plans. In the last 14 years, he has taken the lead in driving the strategic objectives of the college and spearheading institutional efforts on driving student employability and internationalisation. He was instrumental in developing the Quality Management System (QMS) of Middle East College that cuts across all academic and administrative operations of the college. Under his leadership, the QMS has been audited and certified as being in adherence to ISO 9001:2015. He is an External Reviewer with the Oman Authority of Academic Accreditation (OAAA) and with the Bahrain’s Education & Training Quality Authority (BQA). Dr. Kiran was responsible to lead the college in its Institutional Standards Assessment by the OAAA in the year 2019. MEC is now OAAA accredited.
 
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).