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“We want to welcome our students to the
OGTech family” - Orientation days at OGTech
 MUSCAT
Oman-German University of Technology (OGTech)
will have three orientation days for their
students, starting October 6. “During those
days we want to welcome our students to the
OGTech family and give them the opportunity
to get to know each other,” stressed Dr
Barbara Stauble, academic director at OGTech
who together with the administration and
academic departments arranged a diverse
programme for the orientation days of the
students.
The highlight of the orientation days will
be a dinner buffet on October 8. That
evening OGTech will invite all students,
their parents and the OGTech staff for an
iftar. Besides getting to know each other
and the OGTech Foundation Campus in North Al
Gubrah, the orientation days will include
small sessions about the OGTech study
programmes, the use of the laptops handed
over to the students, academic regulations
and how to be a successful student. The
whole academic staff will be present during
the orientation days. “We have a very
diverse staff. Our teachers come from Oman,
Germany, Canada, Britain and India,” said
Stauble. Most of the students studying at
OGTech are Omanis, but other nationalities
are represented as well.
All registered students had to pass an
English placement test and currently a
number of students are taking an Intensive
English Course for one month. “So far our
students have passed an English placement
test to evaluate their English skills. Some
of them have already started an English
course in order to take them to the level of
the foundation year,” said Stauble. The
foundation year programme starting on
October 20, will include Academic English,
Mathematics, Information Technologies and
Creative Design. In addition, German,
Economics and Information Technology can be
chosen as electives. Next year the students
will start with their BSc programmes in
Urban Planning and Architectural Design,
Applied Geosciences, Applied Information
Technology and Regional Management and
Tourism. All curricula were designed by
German professors at RWTH Aachen University,
the German Partner University of OGTech. In
addition OGTech received 1 million Euro last
May from the German Academic Exchange
Service (DAAD) to set-up a Quality
Management System at OGTech and to sponsor a
German lecturer. OGTech is also applying for
international accreditation that will
further ensure the international standards
of the OGTech study programmes. At the end
of the studies, all OGTech students will get
an internationally recognized degree that
will enable them to continue their studies
in the Gulf, in Germany or in any other
country. Admission for all programmes is
still open.
Two students talk about their study
choices at OGTech
Since his childhood, 18-year-old Kinan
Marei has wanted to go to Germany. “As a
child one of my dreams was to visit Germany
and to see the football clubs there,” said
Kinan. He is one of the students that are
going to start their studies in October at
the Oman-German University of Technology (OGTech).
Kinan’s parents have visited Germany several
times and have told him about their
impressions. “My father loves Germany. He
has been very impressed by German products,
the high quality and the technology, which
is one of the best in the world,” said Kinan,
referring to BMW and Mercedes Benz cars.
At Muscat International School, Kinan’s
favorite subjects were Physics and
Mathematics. When the librarian of the
school told Kinan that there will be an
Oman-German University of Technology opening
soon, he was keen on knowing more about
OGTech. And he was even happier that OGTech
got located not far from his family home in
Al Gubrah so his choice was clear and
decided: Kinan will study at OGTech.
Kinan has chosen Urban Planning and
Architectural Design as his study programme.
He would probably like to work like his
father in a construction company and plan
new roads in Muscat. “If I have my own
company one day, I would like to build a new
mall, hotels on the beach or a new Wave
project,” said Kinan who is planning to
study for some time in Germany as well and
even work there for a period after his
studies. Therefore, he is very happy to take
German as an elective and study the language
very intensively.
Nataila Al Shaibani will study Applied
Geosciences at OGTech. She is looking
forward to her study programme that will
also include excursions to Germany during
the summer months. “I like the fact that
students will go to Germany for trips and
study there. Normally you do not do that in
Oman,” Nataila said. Like Kinan she is also
thinking about studying in Germany for some
time after her course.
“Actually I wanted to study dentistry, but
since I would have to study for more than
seven years, I decided to change,” she said.
Nataila’s parents, who are working for an
Omani Oil company, played a mayor role in
her decision to study at OGTech. “My father
liked the university and said that the level
of education would be high,” she said.
Therefore he took Natalia to an oil company
to talk to geoscientists about their work.
“Then I discovered that I like Geosciences.
I really like to find out about the planet
and its rocks and search for oil and gas
fields,” Nataila said and smiled. She will
even find some of her friends from Al Qurum
School and feel comfortable. As Kinan said:
“When you enter OGTech you feel like at
home.”
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