The Quality Assurance Office organised an event to honour the winning units under the 2025 initiative that aims to showcase institutional best practices. The initiative forms part of efforts to activate the University’s institutional innovation framework and recognises outstanding institutional contributions that have enhanced performance quality and fostered innovation across the University.
The ceremony was held under the patronage of His Highness Sayyid Dr. Fahd bin Al Julanda Al Said, the Vice-Chancellor. During the event, the top ten practices for 2025 were announced. The selected practices were nominated on the basis of six key criteria: alignment, innovation, measurability, impact, scalability, and sustainability.
The recognised practices were as follows: the College of Education for its Quality Assurance Platform, an integrated electronic platform for collecting and analysing academic accreditation data; the Deanship of Student Affairs for the digital transformation of the electronic catering system in student restaurants; the Centre for Preparatory Studies for enhancing the skills of its students; the Main Library for the Room and Hall Booking Management System; the Deanship of Scientific Research for transitioning from Google Forms submissions to a fully integrated electronic system within the “Baheth” platform for the Sultan Qaboos University Programme for Supporting Scientific Publishing and Patents; the Projects and Maintenance Department for its “From Data to Decisions” dashboard for monitoring maintenance, projects, and utilities consumption; the Communication and Media Department for the illuminated electronic screens across campus to enhance institutional communication and community engagement; the Deanship of Postgraduate Studies for using innovative tools to generate participation certificates for student skills development workshops in the Skills Development Section; the College of Arts and Social Sciences for developing and standardising procedures for renewing academic staff contracts in accordance with objective criteria and quantitative performance indicators; and the First Impression Committee for its reception programme for new employees.
During the ceremony, Professor Sulaiman bin Mohammed Al-Balushi, Director of the Quality Assurance Office, stated that the event supports the University’s vision of being a distinguished institution with global impact and standing. He added that it reflects the implementation of the institutional innovation framework and promotes the sharing of best institutional practices.
Dr. Basma bint Mohammed Al-Yazidi, Deputy Director of the Quality Assurance Office for Research and Institutional Quality, explained that the primary objective of the initiative is to highlight, document, and disseminate outstanding practices, transforming them from unit-level efforts into institutional models that are scalable and sustainable.
She further noted that an independent, multidisciplinary evaluation committee was established, comprising experts in quality, innovation, development, and institutional assessment. The committee was entrusted with reviewing the submitted practices according to clear criteria that ensure integrity and objectivity, thereby strengthening the University community’s confidence in the outcomes of the initiative.