Promoting Internships Abroad: OES Signs MoU with Trimedia Finland

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Oman Educational Services (OES), the owner and mother-company of the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech), has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Trimedia Finland. The main objective of this cooperation is to support GUtech’s efforts to link the Department of Computer Science with international companies based in Finland. As part of their CS study-programme, GUtech students have to conduct summer internships. The students will work remotely on a project here at GUtech and they will be sent to Finland to get more international exposure and training. “We wish to bring reputable European companies to Oman so that Oman can be developed as their regional hub. At the same time, we wish to connect our students to European companies, providing them opportunities to work here in Oman and also on projects in Europe. Hence, this cooperation will allow GUtech students to learn from the business acumen and mindset of these companies while it will, simultaneously, stimulate their interest and hopefully be an incentive to establish their own start-ups in Oman,” said Ahmed Saud Al Salmi, General Manager of OES. Arto Saksola from Trimedia also expressed his excitement for this opportunity to build cooperation between Trimedia and GUtech/OES. Trimedia will get an insight into the skills of GUtech students and develop further cooperation based on these experiences. At the same time, Trimedia’s employees are delighted with this international cooperation.”

Caption: Mr. Ahmed Al Salmi, General Manager of OES and Mr. Arto Saksola along with OES representatives.

 

“Computer Science offers recession-proof jobs”

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HALBAN Computers are part of our every-day lives. “A Bachelor in Computer Science offers a well-rounded programme where students can learn various skills like reasoning, rational thinking and problem-solving,” said Prof. Dr. Nabil Sahli, Head of the Department of Computer Science and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science during the Avenir Career Fair held at the Indian School Seeb last week. “Computer Science offers recession-proof jobs, withstanding economic changes worldwide,” he added. During his talk to the students, Prof. Nabil mentioned that 60% of the future jobs in science will be related to Computer Science, although only 2% will have the specific skill-set required for the jobs. “Computer scientists will be highly in demand in future, focusing on data sciences, data security especially with regard to the dramatically increasing e-commerce businesses.” He added that Computer Science is a door of opportunities when you have unique ideas that attract a large audience. He stressed that some GUtech graduates in Computer Sciences have started their own start-up businesses in Oman, even representing Google in the Middle East or they work for telecommunications companies like Omantel, Oredoo or consultancies like Ernst & Young. “Our Computer Science graduates have a very good reputation in the local market,” he said. Prof. Dr Nabil Sahli got his PhD from Canada in 2006. He has extensive teaching and research experience in Computer Science. Currently, he is involved in different research projects related to sensor networks and road traffic management.

At GUtech’s BSc Computer Science programme, students attend around 30 hours class per week including hardware and software. In addition, they have to conduct a summer internship and write their Bachelor thesis at the end of the programme. The students are also participating in international competitions such as the Dell EMC competition, Microsoft Imagine Cup, ACM programming or the Google Hackathon. In cooperation with GUtech’s partner-university RWTH Aachen University, GUtech has started a MSc programme in Computer Sciences with an option to study at Hasselt University (Belgium) and to earn an additional Master degree in Transportation Science.

(c) GUtech/ Text & Photo: Dr. Manuela Gutberlet

 

Intelligent Technologies in the Construction Sector

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“The Construction Industry meets University for Innovation”

MUSCAT The third joint SAP-GUtech/OES Industry workshop highlighting challenges and opportunities of the digitalization of the construction industry was held at the Crowne Plaza Muscat Convention and Exhibition Centre yesterday. GUtech assumed the task to set-up a SAP NextGen Chapter in 2018. SAP has been facilitating a SAP Dual Training for 25 SAP selected students.

“The construction industry contributes with 9% to the Oman’s GDP and is the country’s largest employer. The sector has a huge potential for job perspectives related to Intelligent applications. Our intention with this workshop is to create solutions that enhance socio-economic growth values for society and for its citizens,” said Heiderose Moossen, Manager Vocational Training and Industry Relations, GUtech, TSSC Department and main organizer of the event. Especially Building Information Modelling, Augmented Reality, the Internet of Things, in-memory and graph computing could provide new business value and operational excellence.

To link the academia and the industry, GUtech has set-up a NextGen Lab in collaboration with SAP last year. “We wish to listen to students, our future employees and build up their skills for the future,” said Mohsen Al Lawati, Accounts Manager at SAP who introduced SAP to the audience. The construction industry is one of the least digitalized sectors worldwide,” said Mohsen Al Lawati.

Challenges and opportunities of digitalization for the construction industry are diverse, including empowering females and reducing the gender gap in the construction and engineering field. “We female architects would like to go to the construction site” said Rafia Al Bahlani, a young architect who works for Atkins. Intelligent technologies could facilitate more female employment opportunities in operations.

Prof. Dr. Nafaa Jabeur from the Department of Computer Sciences at GUtech said in his presentation on the “Intelligent Construction from the Sky” that there are many opportunities for the application of drones in the construction sector in Oman. These opportunities include enhancing operations while facilitating communications between decision-makers and workers, monitoring the daily progress of the construction site, 3D modeling, volumetric measurement, thermal imaging, optimizing costs for project management and maintenance, reducing health and safety threats, to improve the quality of work.

Jobin George, Business Development Manager from Bauer Nimr Oman introduced the application of the SAP Business One Software in Project Management. Bauer Nimr has been using SAP to streamline operations and to simplify processes, multiple cost units and to optimize the overall user productivity while creating more transparency.

The Industry workshop closed with an open forum and a discussion, where the audience discussed and collected their vision on challenges, opportunities and the way ahead for Intelligent Technologies in the Construction Sector. Most feared is the high investment for systems, that digitalize and re-engineer operations of an organization and support its Project Management processes. However, these systems can also help save money: ARAMCO logged in their accounts 80 Mio USD / anno by introducing a customized SAP systems, that run its operations streamlined, efficiently with regard to cost and time savings. The opportunities would be found in safer construction sites, raise skill levels, gender equality, as site progresses can be monitored by women from their office desks. Eventually smart industries will become the norm and facilitate life and work quality for blue- and white collar employees alike.

(c) GUtech; Text & Photo: Dr. Manuela Gutberlet & Heiderose Moossen

weDrone Forum – Opportunities, Challenges and Risks discussed

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HALBAN – The German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) has held the “weDrone – Business Forum” at its campus in Halban today. The forum was conducted under the auspices of Dr. Mohammed Nasser Ali Al-Zaabi, CEO of the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA). The one-day forum brought together a large number of experts and scientists from the international and local drone sector as well as local businesses that are interested in introducing drones for their operations in Oman. The forum was held at GUtech for the second time and it was organized in cooperation with the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) and the local company Brave Hawks LLC.

According to Prof. Dr. Nafaa Jabeur from GUtech’s Department of Computer Sciences and Director of Research at GUtech, the forum aimed to connect different stakeholders in order to create awareness about the legal framework, the space management and the inspection and surveillance of drone technologies. Drones are used for example for real time analysis to monitor traffic control including traffic jams and accidents as well as to monitor construction sites, mining operations or agricultural yields.

With increased mobility worldwide, the challenge is to integrate drone technologies into the air traffic and to comply with various safety regulations. Currently, it is prohibited to use drones for private purpose in Oman. According to Eng. Mubarak Al Farsi from PACA, the use of photographic aircrafts is prohibited. UNIFly, an engineering software company from Belgium has developed a software that helps to deploy drones in safe environments. Koen Meuleman, Founder and Chief Financial Operator of UNIFly showcased the software that is already applied in several European countries to the audience. Meuleman said that the software helps to monitor the flight traffic in real time to reach out to the community and to manage the access of the airspace.

However, there are several threats and ethical issues related to the use of drones, such as breaching personal privacy, flying a drone over crowded places is illegal and endangering the natural environment such as birds. “We have been using drones since 2013. Their use saves us time and costs. We use them in the interior of Oman for surveying, geological mapping and for oil and gas inspections.” said Usman Jamil, Manager of GIS and 3D Data Management at Dawood Engineering Consultancy. Similarly, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has been using drones in the past ten years for pipeline and flare inspections, for project development and for monitoring their oil and gas operations, said Khadija Al Aisari, Head of Remote Sensing at PDO. According to Hans Van Calster and Kevin Wippermann, from Duqm Port the port will be developed into a ‘Smart Port’ in the next years, using drones for its overall operations.

To promote research and development between universities and the drone industry, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between GUtech, Hasselt University (Belgium) and the companies Brave Hawks (Oman) and Drone Matrix (Belgium). Given the introduction phase of the use of drones in Oman, Prof. Dr. Geert Wets, Director of the Mobility Institute at Hasselt University said that it is important to conduct research case-studies along with the development of the drone sector in Oman. “Through our research projects we wish to further collaborate with the government, businesses and the education sector to to create joint competencies for the production and a responsible use of drones in Oman and in the region,” said Prof. Dr. Nafaa Jabeur.

 

 

weDrone – Business Forum at GUtech on 27 February

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HALBAN The German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) will hold the “weDrone – Business Forum” on Wednesday 27 February at its campus in Halban. The forum, organized for the second time by GUtech, will be held in cooperation with the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) and the local company Brave Hawks LLC. The forum aims to bring together experts and scientists from the local and international drone sector. In April 2018 GUtech was the first institution in Oman to address the increasingly important topic of drones. “We are engaging with different stakeholders from Oman as well as from abroad to create awareness about the local legal framework, the management of space where drones are operating, and some critical uses of drones including the inspection and surveillance. During the upcoming event we would like to showcase the different potentials of drones for Oman and we wish to motivate the government, businesses and the education sector to collaborate and create joint competencies for the production and the use of drones in Oman,” said Prof. Dr. Nafaa Jabeur, a drone expert and the main organizer from the Department of Computer Sciences and Director of Research at GUtech. “Oman is in the first stage of developing a drone industry, the usage of drones and the legal framework that fit to the local and regional context. The use of drones is not only about regulations but most important about a responsible, ethical use and behaviour when using drone technologies,” said Prof. Dr. Nafaa Jabeur.

Other topics that will be covered during the upcoming weDrone Business Forum will be the application of drones to support sustainable energy management or logistics. Currently drones are used to monitor operations in the oil and gas industry as well as in agriculture, construction and filming. For the professional use of drones there is a legal framework in place, however regulations regarding the use by laymen and hobbyists are under review by the government.

For more details on the Business Forum please check out the website: wedrone.gutech.edu.om

The participation in the forum is free of charge. The registration is open until 26 February.

(C) Text: GUtech/Dr. Manuela Gutberlet

 

 

Students from the French School in Muscat learn about Smart Cities

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HALBAN As part of the university’s local community engagement, a group of fifteen international students and two teachers from the French High School in Muscat visited the GUtech campus today morning. They met with different professors from the Department of Urban Planning and Architectural Design (UPAD) and the Department of Computer Sciences (CS).

Prof. Dr. Nabil Sahli, Head of the CS Department, gave an introduction to the concept of smart cities and the future of cities worldwide. He also elaborated on smart transportation and the social aspects impacting societies in smart urban developments.

Amal Al Balushi and Olivera Petrovic, both from the Department of Urban Planning and Architectural Design at GUtech then spoke about the work and responsibilities of urban planners and they showcased some recent students’ works to the group. After a short tour around the GUtech campus, the group visited the EcoHaus where they met with Prof. Nikolaus Knebel from the UPAD Department (pictured). He elaborated on the architecture design of the EcoHaus and several smart interior design features such as the cooling system, the solid wall insulation and the recyclable building materials.

© GUtech/ Dr. Manuela Gutberlet

 

The Dean’s List Award Ceremony – 55 students awarded

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HALBAN The Dean’s List Award Ceremony was held in the large GUtech amphitheatre to celebrate the achievements of 55 GUtech students and to commemorate the 6th anniversary of His Majesty’s visit to the university. “We only recently introduced the Dean’s List as a way to recognize outstanding academic achievements. The Dean’s List is a very enviable accomplishment that is only given to our top students” said Prof. Dr. Armin Eberlein, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs.

The criteria for the award were an outstanding academic achievement, the top 10% of the students, a minimum GPA of 3.5, registered for a minimum of 25 credit points, no incomplete or failing grades, no disciplinary written warning letters and an IELTS 6.0 or equivalent. Dr. Armin congratulated the students along with the Head of each academic Department. “You should be proud of the award. You worked hard, attended many lectures, and in addition spent many hours studying on your own or in groups. And it paid off. Your efforts were worth it. However, efforts alone are not sufficient to get on the Dean’s List. You also need to have the intellectual abilities that are needed for this distinction. You need to have the skills to work through complexities, solve problems, find solutions and communicate them well. Today you are being recognized for this combination of your efforts and your skills,” said Dr. Armin. Moreover, the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs stressed that the university commemorates the 6th anniversary of the visit of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said to GUtech. On the 24th of December His Majesty honoured the university with a special private visit. “We are proud of His Majesty’s recognition of our achievements. It shows how His Majesty values us as individuals, our university, our educational ethos, and the benefits that we as an institution bring to the country of Oman. Ultimately, it is through you, our students that GUtech contributes to Oman. You get a superb education here at GUtech. In a few years when you join the workforce, you will be the ones who add value to the Omani economy. And this is what makes me proud of being part of GUtech. It allows me to not only educate individuals for the sake of getting a degree, but I can help develop the future leaders of Oman. This is a real privilege,” said Dr. Armin Eberlein. Many GUtech students and friends attended the ceremony. Finally one GUtech student mentioned that this award ceremony serves as a motivational event for other students to study hard in order to be part of the list next year.

(c) GUtech: Text Dr. Manuela Gutberlet; Photo: Fatma Al Balushi

The following GUtech students were awarded for their outstanding achievements:

Majd Al Kayyal
Murooj Mohammed Al Busaidi
Mohammed Salim Al Haddabi
Jawaher Said Al Ghadani
Maram Mudather Mohamed
Maha Surur Al Busaidi
Halayel Ahmed Al Saadi
Aisha Salim Al Balushi
Arwa Saud Al Zadjali
Firdaus Nabil Al Barwani
Reem Said Al Mushikhi
Mohamed Saleh Al Alawi
Shadhan Hamood Al Rashdi
Sara Haroon Al Bartamani
Loay Imad Al Lawati
Husam Yaqoob Al Siyabi
Khamis Hassan
Fatma Fuad El Sheibany
Zoudat Mohamed Al Aufi
Ahmed Juma Abdulla
Khuzama Salim Al Shezawi
Badria Humuod Al Mauly
AL Ghaith Ali Al Ghaithi
Anwar Rashid AL Hajri
Fatema Nour Al Din Al Farsi
Belqees Ali Al Hinaai
Riyan Yahya Al Wahshi
Sara Tariq Al Bulushi
Maisa Mohammed Al Hinai
Lora Awadh Al Alawi
Maryam Abdul Razzaq Al Raisi
Haitham Anwar Al Rawas
Taif Mohamed Al Kindi
Eilaf Khalid Al Busaidi
Marah Khalfan Al Aufi
Abir Talib Al Kharusi
Ghazalah Nabi Baksh Al Balushi
Shurooq Mohammed Al Busaidi
Nama Yousuf Al Bulushi
Manaf Mohamed Al Raisi
Alaa Mohsin Al Ajmi
Fatema Jamal Al Busaidi
Sanad Sulaiman Al Rawahi
Mallak Yousuf Al Senani
Shaima Hilal Al Jahwari
Fatma Mohammed Al Farsi
Noorin Adil Al Busaidi
Fatma Ali Al Barwani
Ammar Abdulhameed Al Kiyumi
Sara Hamood Al Naamani
Melika Naderi
Juhaina Abdullah Al Salmi
Qatr Al Nada Abdul Rahman Al Hinai
Samahram Is’haq Al Hashli
Melina Naderi

 

Computer Science students are second in the Dell EMC ‘Envision the Future Competition’

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For their invention of an “Automated Irrigation System”, a smart irrigation project which contributes to an effective water resource management, three Computer Science students from GUtech, Maryam Al- Kaabi, Budoor Al Bulushi, and Basma Al-Amri were awarded with the second place in the Dell EMC Envision the Future Competition in 2018. The students’ project was supervised by Dr. Aydin Azizi and Ali Al Humairi. Students Nasser Al Harmali, Said Al Badwawi and Abdullah Al Rashdi were in the initial team that worked on the project to optimize water consumption in large and small scale areas.

‘Envision The Future” is Dell EMC’s annual graduation project competition for senior undergraduate students from universities in Turkey, Middle East and Africa who are enrolled in the EMC Academic Alliance Program. The competition is sponsored by Dell EMC Centre of Excellence (COE) in Egypt and aims to foster technological innovations among youth in the region. The vision is to spark the creativity of students for their graduation projects and to play an active role in the Transformation of IT and to get the opportunity to shine and win prizes. The competition held for the second time witnessed participation by more than 883 senior undergraduate students and over 214 project submissions. Entries from female applicants were at a majority with 60 percent of the entries received, suggesting a positive trend in the region of increasing interest among young women in technology. Projects from over 18 countries were assessed by a panel of academic experts from around the globe.

Watch the project video of the Automated Irrigation System here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqHUpxJGkaQ&feature=youtu.be

 

BSc Computer Science Students Conducted their Thesis at RWTH Aachen University

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“It has been a truly outstanding lifetime experience”

HALBAN Studying abroad and in a different environment educates and broadens the horizon. Hana and Abeer are two GUtech students who conducted their bachelor thesis at GUtech’s German partner-university, RWTH Aachen University, last semester. Hana Rasheed Al Raisi, has been studying Computer Science at GUtech. “Considering the high recognition and exposure that I have received on an international scale while undertaking my bachelor thesis at RWTH Aachen University has been a truly outstanding lifetime experience for me. I proudly state, I have confronted the challenges and seized my dreams,” said Hana. She conducted her Bachelor thesis at the Chair of Communication and Distribution Systems at RWTH Aachen University where she was supervised by Dr. Oliver Hohlfeld and Helge Reelfs for four months. During her time at RWTH Aachen University, she was part of an international team of researchers and she analysed a social network named ‘Jodel’, which is very popular in Saudi Arabia. “I was part of a team consisting of professors and their Bachelor and Master students. The social network ‘Jodel’ is heavily used in Saudi Arabia. It is about microblogging, like Twitter. But it distinguishes itself by a combination of unique design decisions: being local and anonymous,” explained Hana. For her thesis she analysed  the social media network using different methods. “I also researched related work and got inspired with possible questions of interest and how they may be answered methodically. Also, I worked on extending the analysis further by getting a deeper understanding of the application usage in Saudi Arabia and measuring its results qualitatively and computationally,” said Hana while adding that she is very glad about her study experience at RWTH Aachen.

Abir Al Ansari conducted her Bsc thesis at RWTH University in the Embedded Software Laboratory of the Department of Computer Sciences. Her bachelor thesis was entitled: “Evaluation of the lwIP stack with respect to real-time UDP communication on resource constrained platforms.” It was integrated in a research project on mobilities in cities including self-driving cars. “I finalized and presented my thesis on the 3rd of August. However, I extended my stay for one more month to write the thesis report. During my stay in Aachen, I lived in the student accommodation. It was a great opportunity to get familiar with the research environment in the Computer Science Department in RWTH University, communication with students and attending Bachelor and Master thesis presentations.” She said. Abeer thinks about her future. “RWTH University is one of the universities that I would choose for my MSc studies. In general, Aachen is very nice city and suitable for students.” she said.

© Text: GUtech/Dr. Manuela Gutberlet; Photos by Abir Al Ansari

First SAP Next-Gen Innovation Lab in Oman launched at GUtech

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HALBAN To foster the links between the academia and the industry, the first of its kind SAP Next-Gen-Lab in Oman was inaugurated at the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) in cooperation with SAP, one of the leading enterprise software corporations yesterday afternoon. The laboratory was launched by members of the Rectorate of GUtech and the SAP Country General Manager, Mr. Waheed Al Hamaid and in the presence of a number of representatives from the industry in Oman and from the German Embassy. “There are currently around 100 SAP Next-Gen Labs worldwide. These special laboratories provide students with knowledge and skills for a digital future. They also connect the SAP ecosystem of customers and partners with students to work on SAP Next-Gen projects and events to connect companies recruiting next generation leaders with students and graduates who have digital transformation knowledge and skills and to showcase their start-ups with corporates seeking to create innovative solutions,” said Waheed Al Hamaid.

“We are very honored to introduce the first SAP Next-Gen-Lab here at GUtech. We wish to create a special space where our Computer Sciences, Engineering, Geosciences, International Business and Logistics students can interact with companies worldwide and work with them on industry-related challenges, for example in the Logistics sector. This laboratory is a co-creation between the academia, students and the industry. It is a working space built on design-thinking principles to stimulate and encourage innovative thinking, collaboration and knowledge-sharing,” said Dr. Hussain Al Salmi, Vice-Rector for Administration and Finances at GUtech. The SAP Next-Gen Lab connects customers to academic ‘thought leaders’ and researchers, students, start-ups, business accelerators, tech community partners, venture firms, futurists and SAP experts. “This unique cooperation will also help build innovations linked to the 17 UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development,” said Heiderose Moossen, Manager Training and Smart Solutions Center (TSSC) at GUtech who initiated the setting up of the Next-Gen Lab at GUtech. Similar SAP Labs already exist on the Arabian Peninsula in Saudi Arabia, at Prince Sultan University, at King Abdulaziz University and in the UAE.

“We are very delighted to welcome GUtech to our SAP Next-Gen Labs global network, which is specifically structured to encourage close collaboration between academia and industry,” said Wissam Kadi, SAP Next-Gen Director in MENA while adding: “The combination between GUtech academic programmes and SAP’s solutions and breakthrough technologies will open up new learning opportunities for students to develop their future-ready tech skills.” Using the SAP Leonardo platform, a digital innovation system, the university will foster a digitally educated, next generation talent pool with skills in both enterprise systems and digital innovation, with analytics, machine learning, blockchain technology and other expertise.

Universities which open an SAP Next-Gen Lab get the opportunities to open new channels to share ‘thought leadership’ and collaborate with other ‘thought leaders’ in the academia and in the industry on the technologies and innovation methodologies driving the future digital transformation of all industries.

SAP started in 1972, when five entrepreneurs in Germany had a vision for the business potential of technology. Starting with one customer and only a few employees, SAP set out on a path that would not only transform the world of information technology, but also forever alter the way companies do business. SAP empowers people and organisations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP is operating in various industry sectors, such as energy and natural resources, public services, consumer industries, consumer industries, financial services as well as in discrete industries such as the automobile industry.

Caption:

Group photo during the opening of the SAP Next-Gen-Lab, inaugurated at the German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech) in cooperation with SAP.

(c) Text: GUtech / Dr. Manuela Gutberlet; Photo: Umaima Al Zadjali