On Monday, 4 March 2019, H.E. Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, the Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University, received in his office, a delegation from the University of Tübingen, Germany, led by its President, Prof. Dr. Bernd Engler.  Prof. Dr. Engler’s visit to Sultan Qaboos University was aimed at strengthening academic and research collaboration between the two universities.

From 2016 to 2018, a research project funded by Tuebingen University’s Exploration Fund studied “Settlement and Society in Pre-modern Oman”. This project compares various types of rural settlements in the Sultanate of Oman across four millennia with a focus on architecture, irrigation and traffic infrastructure and methods of agricultural production. The project studies patterns in the reactions of preindustrial societies on extreme environmental conditions and in decision-making processes leading to sustainable settlements. Prof. Dr. Engler expressed his University’s interest in having SQU’s partnership in carrying out the subsequent phases of this research project.

The two sides also discussed the possibilities of strengthening the partnership between SQU and the University of Tübingen through exchange of staff and students and collaboration in research across various disciplines including linguistics, history, computer science, and environmental geology. The meeting was attended by H.H. Sayyidah Dr. Mona Fahad Al Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor for International Cooperation, Prof. Amer Ali Al Rawas, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs & Community Service, and other officials of SQU.

Tübingen is a place of research and learning established in 1477. The University has seven faculties. Its innovative programs include Medical Technologies, Molecular Medicine, Environmental Science, Geoecology, Nanoscience, Media Informatics, Sports Management, and Islamic Theology. Its international programs include Behavioural and Neuroscience, Computational Linguistics, Applied & Environmental Geoscience, International Economics and Business Administration.