Muscat: In collaboration with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation today launched the sixth phase of the National Program for Training University Students, titled Eidaad (Eidaad), under the patronage of Her Excellency Dr. Rahma bint Ibrahim Al Mahrouqi, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation, at the Arab Open University in Seeb.
The Eidaad program is a national training program that lasts a whole academic year and is designed for students in their penultimate year at public and private higher education institutions in the Sultanate of Oman. It seeks to equip kids with fundamental skills by exposing them to the workplace and its demands for an extended length of time.
This initiative is part of attempts to improve collaboration between the commercial and academic sectors by equipping individuals with the technical, informational, and skills required to fulfill the needs of the job market.
This version of the program is being attended by 28 higher education institutions (both public and private), as well as 41 supporting firms and organizations from the commercial and commercial sectors. Since the program's inception in 2020, over 1,000 individuals have graduated.
The ceremony included the announcement of the establishment of an advanced career path mapping unit, which will give students and academic advisors a more holistic picture of academic specialisations and related occupations, assisting them in making well-informed career decisions. A detailed visual presentation on the program's features was also provided.
12 collaboration agreements/protocols were also signed between the industry, business, and academic communities. These accords were signed on behalf of the Ministry by Her Excellency Dr. Rahma bint Ibrahim Al Mahrouqi, Minister of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation, on behalf of Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) by Farid bin Khalfan Al Harthy, the company's Executive Director of Corporate Support, and on behalf of the industrial and private sector groups by numerous officials.
It is worth noting that the main goals of the Eidaad program are to strengthen the relationship between the Sultanate of Oman's three sectors: academia, represented by public and private higher education institutions, and industry, and to provide systematic training opportunities for higher education students in order to create meaningful job opportunities in the labor market following graduation.
