The complex relationships between teaching, learning, skill development, research, business and its impact on economy are well understood and are meticulously planned by the administrators and academicians at the department of applied sciences in the higher college of technology, Muscat for their successful implementation. Some of the academic leaders laid the strong foundation, while some others carried the work of capacity building with their administrative talents and few others silently drafted the plans to bring out the untapped potential and shown the direction with a vision and courage by humbly staying behind the curtains and many others turned the dreams into reality by working in the limelight at the department of applied sciences, since its inception over these years. It is a well established fact that the backbone of a healthy and thriving economy is the educational system that can produce highly skilled workers capable of fulfilling the business and industrial needs.

Ms. Faeza, Ms. Sharifa & Ms. Heba awardees (standing from right to left)  from the Applied Sciences Department receiving the OCCI Innovation Award 2017 from His Highness Dr. Fahad Al-Julanda Al-Said, Assistant Secretary General for Innovation Park Muscat, accompanied by Dr. Hila Bin Ali Al-Hinai Secretary General of TRC and Mr. Said Bin Saleh Al-Kiyumi, Chairman, OCCI.

 The basic covet of educational systems is to make a fine craft between skills and understanding that are necessary for a student in order to succeed in the workplace and make a positive contribution to the economy and it  is practiced at every single lecture and laboratory session at the department of applied sciences. The succession of the leadership at the department always resonated with the onerous responsibility of producing the real players in stimulating the economy.  Yet another testimony of a systematic training imparted to the budding scientists of Oman at the department of applied sciences is evident through the great achievement by the applied biology students in winning the prestigious “National Level Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry [OCCI] Innovation Award for the year 2017 at the finals (i.e. Phase- III)” conducted on 14-15th November 2017. The awardees Ms. Faeza Abdullah Saif Al Khatri, Ms. Heba Khalifa Sulaiman Al Ghafri and Ms. Sharifa Hamed Khalfan Al-Qatiti were also rewarded with a cash prize of OMR 2000 for their research contributions. The research project was supervised by Dr. Noel Vinay Thomas, a faculty member from the applied biology section of department of applied sciences.

 
Ms. Sharifa, Ms. Faeza, & Ms. Heba (standing from right to left) with their certificates.

The Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry Innovation Award (OCCI) is initiated by “The Research Council of Oman (TRC)” and sponsored by “The Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry”. This award aims to stimulate and adopt the innovative ideas in the fields of both science and technology from the citizen’s and the residents. This award also aids in transforming the innovative ideas into products or services in the market. This award also encourages and promotes the cooperation and partnership among all the components of society (i.e., individuals, institutions of both public and private sector, and the academic sector) from all the governorates of the Sultanate of Oman in supporting and developing the innovation. (Reference: https://www.trc.gov.om/trcweb/topics/media/events/6502).

The awardees Ms. Faeza Abdullah Saif Al Khatri, Ms. Heba Khalifa Sulaiman Al Ghafri and Ms. Sharifa Hamed Khalfan Al-Qatiti under the supervision and guidance of the project supervisor Dr. Noel Vinay Thomas also stood first in the Phase-1 of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry Innovation Award that was held on the 15th May 2017 at the Al Musanna College of Technology, Musanna with a cash reward of OMR 200. It is noteworthy to mention that these awardees also stood first in the Phase-II of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry Innovation Award with a cash reward of OMR 1000 that was held on the 10th September 2017 at the Al Musanna College of Technology, Musanna.

Their research at the project research laboratories of applied biology section of applied sciences department, HCT, Muscat  is about the study on “Leaf and Root Extract Based Ointments from Annona squamosa and their effects on Hair Re-growth”. The highlight on this project done by the students under the supervision of Dr. Noel Vinay Thomas is to register this research work for a patent at the “Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Intellectual Property Department, Sultanate of Oman for the formula and the prototype. This work was greatly applauded and the team members were given a chance to collaborate with the industries to develop the prototype into a large scale commercial product.

The students Ms. Faeza Abdullah Saif Al Khatri, Ms. Heba Khalifa Sulaiman Al Ghafri and Ms. Sharifa Hamed Khalfan Al-Qatiti and the project supervisor Dr. Noel Vinay Thomas expressed their sincere thanks to Dr. Mohammed Ali Oueslati, Head of the Department of Applied Sciences, Dr.Afraa Said Al-Adawi, Head of Section of Applied Biology Section and Dr. S. K. Sridhar, Head of the Department of Pharmacy. The team also sincerely thanks all the technical staff of both Applied Biology section and the Department of Pharmacy for their help at various stages of the project.

Composed by:
Dr. Noel Vinay Thomas

Enhanced and Edited by:
Dr. C. Rama Chandra Prabhu