Department of PublicRelations and InformationSultan Qaboos University

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Dangers of Smokeless Tobacco

View

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Mohamed Salem Al Ghailani

Editorial Supervision

Santhosh MuthalathSenior Editor

Sara Al GheilaniNasebah Al Muharrami

Translation

Ahlam Al WahaibiDesign & Layout

Photography Dept., CETPhotography

Salim Al SudairiCirculation

Horizon invites contributions from SQU members of staff and faculty. Contributions in the form of articles, news, travelogues, stories of unique and interesting experiences, encounters, etc., are wel-come. Contributions may be edited for the sake of clarity and length. Please send your contributions to horizon@squ.edu.om preferably, as MSWord attachments. Authors will be suitably credited.

The views and opinions expressed in the articles published in this newsletter are those of the authors and are not to be construed as the official views of the publication. Horizon is published three times a month by the Department of Public Relations and Information, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 50, P.C. 123, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

Phone: +968 24141045 Fax: +968 24413 391E-mail: horizon@squ.edu.om Website: www.squ.edu.om

20 November 2014 P2

@SQU-infoSQU-info

Products of information technology revolution such as smartphones, iPads, and the rest influence how students perceive the world, relate to their professors, absorb and use information, and evaluate success. There are people who voice concerns that the prevalence of information has ne-gated the inclination to learn it. They believe that if students can pull up knowledge instantly via their personal technology, they have less incen-tive to retain that knowledge. They already possess it on their phones; they don’t need to know it. However, learning as much general knowl-edge as possible is still beneficial for any student to participate fully in career and society. It’s just as important to know how to participate given these fantastic new electronic tools. A student still has to learn the ‘base information’ to learn other concepts, including those that drive technol-ogy. One has to understand what lies behind the technology.

Our libraries have reorganized to become more electronic-driven than paper-based repositories of information. At the same time the classroom should achieve more interaction between teacher and students. In certain fields, personal technology can be used creatively and effectively in the teaching and learning process. Depending on the course, technology can help the student become proficient in analyzing and synthesizing infor-mation in the time it once took a professor to dispense it. In broader terms, technology will help to redefine the campus of future. In classrooms, labo-ratories and libraries, students will have a greater role in driving the cur-riculum, filtering knowledge and course requirements through technol-ogy and interacting with their counterparts in other nations, in real time, via smart classroom innovations. Traditional examination formats will rely less on regurgitation of knowledge, and more on regeneration of it.

The future employers will expect a high degree of creative problem-solv-ing skills, those students who can refine, reinvent, or redirect ways of us-ing conventional information and knowledge-based skills will garner the most exciting entry-level positions. This will mean that traditional aca-demic department structures will also need to be redefined. Interdepart-mental course offerings, collaboration on global study-abroad and other initiatives and the pairing of once-separate disciplines will form a new academic model. Majority of employers look for candidates who demon-strate capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems, regardless of their undergraduate major.

Retooling for the Future

News Update

P3 20 November 2014

Sultan Qaboos University, celebrated the first phase of its 25th graduation ceremony on Sunday, 16 November, under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Mo-hammed Al Zubair bin Ali, Adviser for Economic Planning Affairs to His Majesty the Sultan. A total of 1260 students from the colleges of Medicine & Health Sciences, Nursing, Agricultural & Marine Sciences, Engineer-ing, and Science, received their certificates from the patron of the ceremo-ny. The graduating students represent the 6th batch of doctoral graduates, 19th batch of masters graduates and 25th batch of bachelor’s graduates.

Speaking on the occasion, H.E. Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, the Vice Chan-cellor of Sultan Qaboos University, said that the university is graduating 2519 students from different colleges this year. “In today’s ceremony, 451 students from the College of Science, 74 from the College of Nursing, 123 from the College of Medicine & Health Sciences, 440 from the College of Engineering and 172 students from the College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences, are awarded degree certificates”, he said. The Vice Chancellor congratulated the graduating students and hoped that they would con-tribute significantly to the progress of the country. “Based on its academic and research components, the field of education is responsible for solving problems that face the world. SQU seeks to obtain a leading position in the region and the world at large by seeking excellence in its academic and research pursuits. The university is keen to pursue academic accredi-tation for all its programs by reputed international organizations in this field”, he said.

Listing the achievements of the university in terms of accreditation, the Vice Chancellor pointed out that all the undergraduate programs of the college of Engineering are accredited for the second consecutive term by the US based ABET Inc. “The Department of Chemistry of the College of Science recently received academic accreditation from Canadian Society for Chemistry. The Geology and Geophysics programs at College of Sci-ence received accreditation from the British Geological Society. The basic MD program offered by the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, has been accredited by the Association for Medical Education in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (AMEEMR) in association with the World Federa-tion for Medical Education (WFME). The College of Medicine and Health Sciences got the best medical college in the Arab World Award instituted

The College of Medicine & Health Sci-ences at Sultan Qaboos University, has been selected as the best medical col-lege/institute in the Arab World by the UAE based Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sci-ences, this year. SQU College of Medi-cine shares this award with Mongi Ben Hamida National Institute of Neurology, Tunisia. This was announced by Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi, the Director of the UAE University and a member of the Board of Trustees of Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences, and Prof. Najib Al Khaja, the Secretary General of the Award, at press conference held recently in Dubai UAE. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award is given for different categories in medical sci-ences with a total monetary value of AED 2.8 million.

Prof. Najib Al Khaja noted that the winners will be honored during the Awards ceremony that is to be held on 15th December in Rashid Hall at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre in the pres-

1260 Science Students Graduate in First Phase

College of Medicine Wins Hamdan Medical Award

by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences. SQU Hospital has secured the Golden level of Health Care Institutions recog-nition conferred by the Accreditation Canada International”, he said. Dr. Al Bimani also mentioned some of the recent outstanding achievements of the university’s students in extracurricular activities and scientific innovation. “It gives us more delight as the graduation ceremony of SQU coincides with the 44th National Day of the our beloved country”, he said.

Maimoona bint Mohammed Al Balushi, a student from the College of Agri-cultural & Marine Sciences, gave a speech on behalf of the graduating stu-dents in which she thanked the university for all the services and support they received during the years of their study at the university. She promised that the graduates will make best use of their knowledge, skills and capa-bilities in serving the nation. At the ceremony, Hooria Hamed Al Akzami, student from the College of Engineering recited the poem written by Fahd bin Yousef Al Aghbari, student from the College of Law. In the second phase of the graduation ceremony, to be held on 23rd November, student from the humanities colleges and the College of Economics & Political Science, will receive their degrees.

ence of the Award Patron, His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Deputy Ruler of Dubai and the UAE Minister of Finance. In conjunction with the Awards ceremony, the Award will organize the 8th Dubai International Conference for Medical Sciences from 15th to 17th December in Al Bustan Rotana Hotel in Dubai. The conference will discuss the main topics of the Award in its current term concerning drug discovery, targeted therapy, cell therapy and vaccines with the participa-tion of the winners of Grand Hamdan International Award, Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence and Hamdan Award for Volun-teers in Humanitarian Medical Services for the first time in the history of the Conference.

Commenting on this achievement, Prof. Omar Al-Rawas, Dean of the College of Medicine & Health Sciences at SQU, said that the award re-flects the academic status of the college and the professional capabilities of its graduates. “The college was able to get the award because of the high standard of its academic curriculum in preparing medical gradu-ates, educational approach, capabilities and efficiencies of the academic staff, and effective learning and teaching methods followed by the col-lege. The award recognizes the continuous growth of the research output and research capabilities of the college and its services to the community in addition to its use of latest technologies for teaching and learning”,the Dean said.

Insight

20 November 2014 P4

A study carried out at the College of Science, SQU indicates that Afzal, a smokeless tobacco product illegally sold in Oman con-tains heavy metals that may cause health problems. The findings of this research was published in SQU Medical Journal (August 2014-Vol. 14, No.3).

A study conducted by researchers from the Department of Biol-ogy at Sultan Qaboos University has found that Afzal, an illegally sold smokeless tobacco product (STP) commonly used by youths and teenagers in Oman, contains a number of heavy metals that may cause health problems. The findings of this study underscores the need for urgent regulations at national level to control the il-legal sale of this tobacco product and public health education and awareness campaigns on the health risks associated with the use of Afzal. This study was conducted by Mrs. Nawal Al Mukhaini, a PhD Student, who is supervised by Prof. Taher Ba- Omar, Drs. El-sadig Eltayeb and Aisha Al Shehi, from the Department of Biology at the College of Science.

The authors said that smokeless tobacco products have started to gain popularity in Oman, especially among young people, because of its cheap price and easy availability as well as the lack of aware-ness about its harmful effects. “Afzal is considered to be a snuff tobacco or a type of moist STP, and illegally sold in Oman despite been prohibited by law. Afzal is used by applying a pinch of the product between the lips and the upper or lower gums. Users suck the juice of the product for varying periods of time, often up to 30 minutes, and subsequently spit out the rest.

The findings of this study confirmed the presence of several heavy metals such as chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) in a randomly selected blend of Afzal. Some of these heavy metals are carcinogenic. The results showed levels of chromium and cadmium in Afzal above international limits, while the concen-trations of nickel and lead were lower than the maximum permissi-ble limits. The estimated daily intake of the tested metals exceeded the allowable safe limits recommended by the Food and Agricul-tural Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO), rendering users at high risk of being poisoned or developing other undesirable side effects. The frequent use of this brand of STP al-lows the accumulation of no degradable and dangerous elements in the user’s body. Excluding other potential sources of daily heavy metal intake such as from the environmental and dietary sources,

frequent use of Afzal may put users at risk of exposure to com-bined metals.

Heavy metals have potential toxic and carcinogenic effects and some of them can cause severe health problems, even in trace amounts. Cadmium is very toxic to bones, the nervous system and kidney and can cause cataract in the eye. Lead is known to induce renal tumors and increase blood pressure and the risk of cardio-vascular diseases. Moreover, the brain is one of the organs most affected by this metal. Lead exposure has been found to be cor-related with reduced cognitive development, decreased IQ levels and poor learning outcomes in children. Nickel along with most of the metals mentioned above, can cause inflammatory responses, in most cases this results in allergic contact dermatitis inflammations. Nickel also causes oral allergic contact sensitization.

Considering these aspects, the researchers recommend that the sale of illegal STPs such as Afzal need urgent regulation in Oman. “It is equally important that education programs aimed at Omani youth need to be implemented to raise awareness of the health risks and dangers of using this product”, they said.

Smokeless Tobacco ProductsSmokeless tobacco causes significant health risks. It contains the same addictive chemical (nicotine) that is in cigarettes, which can lead to addiction and dependence. The amount of nicotine ab-sorbed from smokeless tobacco is 3 to 4 times the amount delivered by a cigarette.

Key facts about smokeless tobacco Use: Smokeless tobacco con-tains 28 cancer-causing agents (carcinogens) or known causes of human cancer. It also increases the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity and pancreas. Snuff is finely ground tobacco that can be dry, moist, or in bag-like pouches. Most smokeless tobacco users place the product in the cheek or between their gum and cheek, suck on the tobacco and spit out or swallow the juices, which is why smokeless tobacco is often referred to as spit tobacco. How-ever, several tobacco companies have started to develop and test market new smokeless tobacco products such as snus, a product that does not require the user to spit and tobacco products that dis-solve when put into the mouth.

(Ref: American Lung Association)

Dangers

of Smokeless Tobacco

Mind Over Matter

P5 20 November 2014

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) belongs to goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae), this family contains large number of plant species. Many of these species growth habits are annual, perennial (herbs or sub-shrubs) and little grow like shrubs, climbers or trees. Numerous species of this family carry commercial significance for example, spinach and beetroots are largely consumed as vegetable, quinoa is known as pseudo-cereal, and some have medicinal and ornamental value while sev-eral others have shown industrial worth for making soda ash indirectly.

Quinoa is a one of the important members of domesti-cated species of goosefoot family. It was originated in Andean countries of Peru and Bolivia. Traditionally, it was cultivated as a principal food by pre-Columbian

Quinoa: A New Crop to Dry-land Agriculture

Dr. Mumtaz KhanDepartment of Crop SciencesCollege of Agriculture and Marine Sciences

civilizations; nevertheless its cultivation was substi-tuted with other cereal crops on the arrival of the Span-ish. It is an old crop known to Andean people and with the passage of time series of genotypes was carefully chosen in relation to hostile biotic and abiotic stress tolerance.

At present domesticated Quinoa ecotypes have diverse characters which makes it a peculiar crop to be used for different purposes e.g. for making soaps, toasting, grains, flour, and high nutritional enhancement. Qui-noa is known for its high protein content compared to other plant foods while it carries little lower protein compared to most legume crops.

Quinoa also has a favorable balance between its essen-tial amino acid contents compared to other plant foods. It has been proven that quinoa is a good source of en-ergy and dietary fiber, and has significant amounts of minerals such as iron/zinc and antioxidants too. The high nutritional substances of Quinoa grains have been acknowledged by the indigenous Andean people nam-ing it as the ‘‘golden grain’’ of the Andes.

It has shown wide range of adaptability to climate and can be grown from -4C0 to 35C0 or even at higher temperatures. Some Quinoa varieties can be grown successfully under extreme drought and salinity con-ditions. The diversity of this plant brands it a climate smart crop. It generally takes 160-180 days from sow-ing to reach harvest maturity.

The geographic distribution of world Quinoa produc-tion is focused to Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, extending from 5° north latitude to 43° south latitude. The ability of different varieties of Quinoa to be grown at differ-ent altitudes and climate zones are which gives Quinoa great potential to improve food security globally. Experimental assessments have been started to explore the Quinoa cultivation in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. It is worth mentioning that its culti-vation has been successfully achieved in the United States, Morocco, Kenya, and India. It is expected that worldwide Quinoa production will be taken up on large scale production as a commercial crop in coming years.

Recognizing the importance and acknowledging the contribution of indigenous peoples of the Andes, who maintained, controlled, protected and preserved qui-noa as food for present and coming generations, the United Nations has affirmed year 2013 as “Interna-tional Year of Quinoa” (IYQ). Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is encouraging and making avail-able all their technical support to member countries in promoting Quinoa cultivation and ensuring world food security through such new crop initiatives.

We at the Department of Crop Sciences, CAMS, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) have been working on pro-curing seed material from the sister organizations and planned to initiate its field trial in Fall 2014. The initial plan is to screen the range of Quinoa biotypes on the basis of their field trial performance and later to con-duct certain precise experiments to assess the selected plant material against drought/salinity tolerance and crop productivity/quality factors.

We comprehend that this could be a new crop to Om-ani agriculture which would need sufficient time to come up with recommendations whether it can be an alternate commercial crop to Omani agriculture or not.

News Round Up

P620 November 2014

The 24th batch of medical graduates from the College of Medicine & Health Sciences, and the 8th batch of nursing graduates from the Col-lege of Nursing at Sultan Qaboos University had their oath taking cere-mony recently under the patronage of H.E. Dr. Ali bin Saud Al Bimani, the Vice Chancellor. As many as 104 medical graduates and 74 nursing graduates took the oath.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Dr. Omar Al Rawas, Dean of the Col-lege of Medicine & Health Sciences congratulated the medial stu-dents on successfully completing their studies and called upon them to perform their duties with honesty and dedication. He stressed on the quality of medical education at SQU highlighting the accredita-tion of the MD program by World Federal of Medical Education, and the college winning several international awards, the latest being the best medical school in the region by Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Medical Sciences. In her speech, Dr. Isra Al Kha-sawneh, Dean of the College of Nursing, congratulated the nursing graduates and called upon to perform their duties with compassion and dedication, and to continue building knowledge and honing skills as nursing educator or practitioner to achieve their goals. Dr. Muna Al Sadoon, and Mr. Nasser Al Salmi administered the oath to the medical and the nursing graduates respectively.

A research paper on detecting surface cracks on dates using color im-aging technique, has qualified five researchers from SQU to win the National Research Award (environmental and biological resources cat-egory) for the year 2014, instituted by the Research Council (TRC). The researchers are: Ms. Sawsana Al Rahbi, a PhD student in the Depart-ment of Soils, Water & Agricultural Engineering (SWAE), Dr. Manick-avasagan Annamalai, Assistant Professor, SWAE, Dr. Rashid Al Yahyai, Associate Professor, Crop Sciences Department, Dr. Pulathisi Mahinda Alahakoon, Postdoctoral Fellow, SWAE, and Dr. Lazhar khriji, Associ-ate Professor, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. The paper titled “Detecting Surface Cracks on Dates Using Color Imaging Technique” produced by Sawsana Al Rahbi and fellow researchers, was based on the outcomes of a TRC funded research “Development of Computer Vision Technology for Quality Assessment of Dates in Oman”, led by Dr. Manickavasagan Annamalai.

The research explores the potential of using computer vision (CV) tech-nology as an alternative method for visual inspection method of qual-ity assessment. In CV method, various cameras are used to take images of the products and characterize their qualities (internal and external). This method is being used for various quality measurements with ac-ceptable accuracy in developed countries. “In spite of higher produc-tion of dates in Oman, the average annual export is only 2.5 to 3.5% of the total production. Quality-composition and packaging have always been a problem for Omani dates to compete in the international mar-ket”, the researchers said.

Dr. Manickavsagan said that manual grading is generally followed in date factories in Oman. Visual inspection or manual grading has many constraints such as subjectivity (personal perception), influence of men-tal stress, influence of environment (lightings), efficiency of individuals at various times of the shift etc. “In many developed countries, food sector is one of the top ten industries using CV technology. In our work we determined the efficiency of a CV system with RGB color camera in determining the surface quality (surface crack) of dates. Surface crack is a type of defect which depreciates date quality. In the current manual inspection, there is no standard method to estimate the extent of spread of these cracks on dates, or their percentage cover. Hence, there is a necessity to develop an objective method to estimate the amount of cracks present on a date fruit, which could be used as a detection tool in handling, processing and packaging facilities”, he said.

As a part of the project, three grades or classes of ‘Khalas’ variety dates (high-crack, low-crack and no-crack) were obtained from two commer-cial date processing factories in Oman. Color camera, florescent lights and data acquisition system were the main components of the devel-oped imaging system. A color image was acquired for each date sam-ple and analyzed in Matlab software to extract the features to describe and detect cracks on dates. The statistical models were used to classify dates according to the presence of cracks, and the accuracy was up to 96%. The researchers said that there are lots of opportunities to develop CV techniques to determine various internal and surface qualities of dates using RGB and other cameras. “With the help of today’s advance-ment in electronics, it is very much possible, to identify and remove the off-quality dates from the production line automatically. This kind of automatic quality monitoring and control techniques will assure the export of high-quality dates from Oman. In addition, the algorithm can be modified to be used in the quality detection on other fruits or vegetables”, they said.

Sultan Qaboos University honored the 90 employees and one retired staff member who completed 20 years of service at the university. The function was held under the patronage of Prof. Amer Ali Al Rawas, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Research, at the faculty club annexe.

Dr. Hamad bin Sulaiman Al Salmi, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Admin-istrative and Financial Affairs, delivered a speech of gratitude and ap-preciation to the Staff for serving SQU during these years, in addition to their contributions that led to the progress of the institution. The employees expressed their gratitude for this honor, emphasizing that this would push them to make more efforts in serving the university. This honoring ceremony of staff and retired staff is held annually, to honor the employees for their contributions during the years of service.

Medical, Nursing Graduates Take Oath

SQU’s Date Research Bags Award

SQU Honors Employees

Panorama

P7 20 November 2014

The International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience (IAESTE) is a global organization promoting intercultural ex-change between students. It provides students with opportunities to train abroad and employers with highly skilled, highly motivated trainees for projects. IAESTE Oman is one of the 80 members of the global IAESTE family, formed in 2001 with a vision of connecting companies, universi-ties and students in Oman to foster cross-border collaboration in R&D and increase mobility of engineers. With commitment, dedication and hard work, IAESTE Oman has achieved a staggering growth rate in the number of exchange students catered to annually. As a result, an escalating interest has been observed in local and international companies based in Oman to serve as active participants fuelling the growth of youth in the techni-cal sector. IAESTE Oman has been operating under complete sponsorship from the SQU since its establishment. SQU has helped IAESTE Oman be an active member of the IAESTE internationally by providing the students of the College of Engineering with best opportunities for an international training.

Dr. Issa Hamdoon Al-Harthy, Assistant Dean for Training and Commu-nity Services, said that the successful of this international program has obtained by the a strong help from our local partners that offers a train-ing opportunities to international students for a period of 4-8 weeks every summer semester. “SQU has helped IAESTE Oman be an active member of the IAESTE internationally by providing the students of the College of Engineering with best opportunities for an international training. On be-half SQU, I would like to express our appreciation and thanks to all com-panies and organizations for inviting international students to their office for short training period”, he said.

Exchange coordinator, Moadh Al-Zadjali, said: “2014 was another excel-lent year for IAESTE Oman. The office fully supported and sponsored all the outgoing students. We were able to exchange with larger number of countries this year with a higher number of students participating, both males and females. Like every year, a very active social and fully spon-sored program was executed for the incoming international students. The program included trips to main cities, major cultural and historic sites, as well as favorite tourist destinations. The international students in Oman also visited Salalah for a 4 day tour to explore unbelievably lush region that is fringed by the mountains which in summer changes into an emerald green land”.

The IAESTE Experience 2014Siham Mohammed Jasnak (Student from SQU who went to Germany): “It would be an understatement to say that my IAESTE training in Berlin was an outstanding academic and technical learning experience. This training went far beyond that and gave me the unparalleled opportunity to be ex-posed to so many new ideas, cultures and viewpoints that tremendously broadened my world view and inculcated in me the constant desire to learn and apply the knowledge gained to aid our growth. The training allowed me to interact and exchange ideas with students from all over

the world, allowing me to work as a global citizen thinking beyond the borders of countries.

Ghosin Al-Shukaili (to United Kingdom): “I express my gratitude to IAESTE Oman for giving me an opportunity to improve my skills in data analysis and specialized software in Mechanical Engineering. I must say the IAESTE program gave me the opportunity of lifetime. In addition to the technical knowledge, I learned a lot about the culture in UK by visiting various historical places. It was the best experience of my life!”

Foreign Students in OmanNada Shuaib (from United States of America): “My summer training with the IAESTE organization was a great experience that engaged me with the authentic Omani culture. I was part of the Omani Heritage Villages’ Pres-ervation project, supervised by the Ministry of Heritage. I was exposed to a wide range of native cultures across the regions of Oman. From my experience I can confidently say that Omani citizens are one of the most helpful, humble and generous people. I will definitely want to come back to Oman soon.”

Samantha Miler(from Brazil): “I couldn’t be more thankful for everything I’ve learned in Oman. It was the trip of a lifetime with valuable practical experience in my field of expertise. Being a trainee at PDO, I excelled as a petroleum engineer from their highly sophisticated training programs. I worked with an amazing team that selflessly helped me acquire knowl-edge to deal with the practical issues in the fields. Most importantly, the time that I spent with friends from IAESTE Oman travelling around Oman and getting to know the country better was fascinating. They made us feel like family and visiting the beaches, wadis, deserts, tourist places and sites with them was unforgettable! I can only thank God for having such a great opportunity and I hope that someday I will be back, Inshallah”.

Future of IAESTE OmanUpon achieving its intended milestones, IAESTE Oman, collaboratively with student volunteers, is now broadening its vision to strengthen exist-ing relations with countries which participated in 2014 and to build ties with numerous other countries thus encouraging higher number of ex-changes in the coming years.

“IAESTE Oman is further encouraging students with the help of its alumni to strive to present Oman, with its rapidly growing industry, as one of the top ranking destinations for an international standard technical training and cultural experience. In turn, we are aiming to create more opportu-nities for the Omani youth to benefit from IAESTE program. Having an exceptional higher education level and top class facilities, Omani students are highly skilled and capable of competing at the international level, thus exhibiting Oman on the global platform as one of the leaders in in-novation.” said student coordinators at the IAESTE Oman Office, Ahsen Mubarik Ali and Siham Jasnak.

The IAESTE Experience 2014

Straight Talk

Dr. Kaveh Madani

Horizon: Can you explain about your presentation on water crisis which you delivered at SQU?Dr. Madani: The presentation provided an overview of the current state of water resources in Iran. Iran is expe-riencing a critical situation due to mismanagement of water resources under aggressive development, and serious ac-tions are required to minimizing the ongoing and upcom-ing losses. The presentation highlighted the major lessons to be learned by Oman, which can go in the same direction. Oman can avoid the experienced issues in Iran through ho-listic understanding of the current problems, recognizing the trade-offs between economic development and envi-ronmental sustainability, coordination among stakehold-ers, and bottom-up approaches which involve ‘people’ in water management.

Dr. Kaveh Madani is an Environmental Management Lecturer in the Centre for Environmental Policy at the Imperial College London. Before joining the Imperial College London, he was an Alex Alexander Fellow and an assistant professor of civil, environmental and con-struction engineering at the University of Central Flor-ida, where he founded the Hydro-Environmental and Energy Systems Analysis (HEESA) group. His work includes application of systems engineering, conflict resolution, system dynamics, economics, optimization methods to water, environmental, and energy resource problems at different scales to derive policy and man-agement insights. He is the Founder of WaterSISWEB and has been recently selected as one of the ten “New Faces of Civil Engineering” in 2012 by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Dr. Kaveh Mada-ni gave talk on “Water Crisis in Iran: Lessons to Be Learned by Oman” at the College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences at SQU.

Horizon: What is the ideal strategy for water management in your view?Dr. Madani: Effective water management relies on a holistic understanding of all elements of water system and its dynamic relations with other systems. Normally, what leads to water crisis is disintegrated management Instead of having coordinated strate-gies for management and development, governments try to develop separate strategies for different sectors, like energy, agriculture, transportation, and so on. Under this condition, even good intentions can lead to sever outcomes, when the effects of disconnected plans are combined.

Oman has some major water-related challenges such as climate change, sea level rise, food security, groundwater overdraft and saltwater intrusion that can have major consequences if timely actions are not taken. I wanted to emphasize in my talk, that devel-opment does not necessarily mean replicating all that have been done in developed countries. Common practices in this part of the world, like constructing bigger and taller buildings, dams, and other infra-structure may not necessarily mean development as they can have major consequences as have been ob-served in the West and in your neighbor, Iran. What caused serious environmental damages in these plac-es was not a lack of expertise or financial resources, but a thirst for rushed and uncoordinated develop-ment in different sectors. Sustainable development is not a dream, but can be unachievable in absence of vision and comprehensive understanding of human-natural systems.

Horizon: What is the purpose of your visit to SQU?Dr. Madani: I am an international collaborator on a TRC funded research project at SQU led by Dr. Slim Zekri in the Natural Resources Economics De-partment. This project, which is perhaps the first one in its own kind in the world, is focused on sustain-able groundwater management in Oman. Seawater intrusion due to aggressive groundwater withdrawal has created serious challenges for the agricultural sector in Oman. The 30 percent excess withdrawal in the study areas is equal to declining groundwater table and increasing salinity. So, some crops cannot be grown anymore and the situation continues to get worse and worse if there is no action.

This interdisciplinary project tries to understand practical methods for reducing groundwater con-sumption, increasing productivity at the farm level, and decreasing the cost of energy supply for the gov-ernment. This is a practice-oriented method which brings engineering, natural sciences, economics and social sciences together to first understand how de-cisions are made at the farm level and then suggest solutions that help securing sustainable groundwater resources and increase the economic gains of the indi-vidual farmers and the government in the long-run. The project is unique in that it has all the essential elements of applied research that affects well-being of Omanis immediately. The project benefits from indus-try partnership, but most of the technological compo-nents such as sensors, mobile apps, and the integra-tion software have been developed and produced by local researchers. This is very promising and suggests that the locals can solve this problem in house. They just need to come together and have concerns over the long-term costs of the current groundwater man-agement practices, which can be detrimental to the health of ecosystem, water resources, agriculture, and the economy of the country.