His Highness Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham bin Tarik Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, today patronised Sultan Qaboos University’s celebration of the 40th anniversary of its opening. The celebration was held under the theme “A Lasting Legacy” in the Grand Hall of the Cultural Centre.

His Highness Sayyid Dr Fahad bin Al-Julanda bin Majid Al Said, the Vice-Chancellor, delivered a speech for the occasion. He said the celebration honours a purely national idea that began four decades ago, when the wise vision of the late Sultan Qaboos bin Said took shape: that the essential starting point for building nations is developing people.

He added that the opening of the University heralded a new phase of academic qualification, knowledge empowerment and openness to the horizons of the future. The University was to be a pillar of support for the nation through its stages of development, and a source of capable graduates able to contribute in every field.

His Highness the Vice-Chancellor explained that the celebration is an occasion for commemoration and renewed commitment. It recognises everyone who has contributed to the University’s journey, including vice-chancellors, academics, administrators, alumni, students and partners, and celebrates its academic, research and community achievements. It also renews the pledge that SQU will remain faithful to the mission for which it was founded and continue to fulfil its national duty alongside the Sultanate of Oman’s other educational institutions. This is in line with the lofty vision and directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, who has given education and scientific research exceptional attention and placed them at the forefront of the priorities of the Renewed Renaissance.

He pointed to the generous support SQU has enjoyed from its foundation to the present day. This support has taken the form of continued patronage, institutional empowerment, the strengthening of the University’s autonomy, and an academic environment that encourages creativity and innovation. He stressed that this precious trust has been, and remains, an incentive to give more, as well as a responsibility to preserve and develop the University’s gains in a manner befitting its reputation and standing.

He noted that SQU was founded to serve the successive generations of Oman. Its mission is not limited to graduating individuals equipped with knowledge and science, but extends to instilling the values of good citizenship and opening the horizons of the future to the nation with wisdom and awareness.

He also observed that the University now holds a pivotal position in achieving the goals of Oman Vision 2040, through its renewed academic programmes, high-quality research, effective partnerships and direct contribution to building an economy based on knowledge and innovation.

His Highness the Vice-Chancellor affirmed that the University’s role has never been confined to the classroom. Its impact has reached every part of Omani society, culturally, socially and economically, and it has carried the message of the Sultanate of Oman to regional and international forums. Generations of its graduates now hold leading roles in a range of fields, while studies and research carried out in its laboratories have supported development plans. Its halls have witnessed discussion of the nation’s and society’s concerns, and its graduates have reflected the character and capabilities of the Omani people. He added that, as the University enters its fifth decade, it regards its achievements as a foundation to build on rather than the end of a journey, drawing on four decades of accumulated experience, knowledge and accomplishment, guided by its vision, mission and values.

In closing, His Highness the Vice-Chancellor affirmed that the University will move forward with firm resolve in the era of the Renewed Renaissance, preserving its gains and building upon them. It will continue its mission in education, scientific research, and service to society and the nation, looking to create a lasting legacy that befits its heritage and standing and the responsibility it bears towards the Sultanate of Oman and its future.

The celebration featured a documentary film, Beyond Forty, which retraces SQU’s journey over four decades, from the launch of the idea in 1980 to what the University has achieved in knowledge, accomplishment and lasting impact on the nation’s journey. The story is told through documents and human memory, exploring the University’s role in building minds and shaping generations who have carried its message into all walks of life, so that its story remains greater than its buildings, reaches beyond its boundaries and runs too deep to be summed up.

The celebration also featured a recitation of “The Brilliance of Forty”, a poem by Dr Said bin Mohammed Al-Maktoumi, performed by students Ahmed bin Bati Al-Shukaili and Al-Jawhara bint Salim Al-Hasani. 

His Highness Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said, the patron of the occasion, launched the commemorative postage stamp for the 40th anniversary of the University’s opening. The issue reflects four decades of developing people, producing knowledge and leading the future, and embodies this journey in a work of art that combines the memory of the University’s founding with its continued contribution. The issue includes a commemorative card that brings the four stamps together in a complete artistic panel, together with a special first-day cover that documents the occasion through the four stamps, bearing the event’s postmark.

His Highness toured the accompanying exhibition which showcases the University’s journey from being a national project for qualifying talent to becoming one of the pillars of nation-building and a key player in shaping the country’s future. The celebration is accompanied by a scientific symposium on SQU, held by Royal directive of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, which begins on Tuesday and runs for two days.

The symposium reviews four decades of leadership and impact, highlighting SQU’s role in the country’s economic and social development over the past forty years. It takes as its starting point the national standing of SQU as the first university in the Sultanate of Oman, and the pivotal role it has played over four decades in building the Omani people, preparing national talent, producing knowledge, strengthening scientific research and innovation, supplying state institutions and sectors with qualified people, serving society, and consolidating its authentic national identity and values.

The celebration carries the theme “Lasting Legacy”, recalling four decades of national, scientific and intellectual contribution and a pioneering journey in which the University has helped to shape people, produce knowledge and anticipate the future. It does so through an integrated system that places people at the heart of education, knowledge at the foundation of research and innovation, and the future as a horizon for development and foresight.

The concept of “developing people” comes first among these areas of impact, being one of the University’s most important roles and a core part of its mission. Over forty years, SQU has helped prepare generations of Omani talent who have strengthened various sectors and carried the knowledge, learning and experience they gained into the fields of work, development and national service.

Knowledge production, meanwhile, has gone beyond research and studies to partnerships and research projects that have helped translate scientific knowledge into applications, decisions and initiatives with a lasting effect, reinforcing the University’s position as an active partner in the development journey.

The University’s impact also extends to shaping the future, through a forward-looking vision that goes beyond building the present to look at what lies beyond it. This is pursued through centres of excellence, future-oriented research, innovation programmes and scientific partnerships that open new horizons within the Sultanate of Oman and beyond.

The ceremony was attended by a number of Their Highnesses and Excellencies, members of the State Council, military commanders, members of the SQU Council and its former vice-chancellors, together with a number of heads of other universities. Also present were SQU’s partners from government and private bodies and from academic and research institutions, as well as SQU staff, alumni and students.