Muscat: The 11th National Research Award (NRA), hosted by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, recognized some of the most brilliant and innovative thinkers in the Sultanate of Oman.
Among the 13 awarded projects, “Challenges Facing Innovation Management in Omani Higher Education Institutions from the Perspective of Innovative Students,” led by principal investigator Marhouna Hamed Al Maqbali, a teacher at the Ministry of Education and a PhD candidate in Educational Administration at the Department of Foundations and Educational Administration, College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), received accolades in the Education and Human Resources category for Young Researchers.
In discussing her research, Marhouna emphasized that effective innovation management is a significant challenge faced by nations globally.
The objective of this study was to identify the key challenges related to innovation management in higher education institutions in Oman, as perceived by innovative students throughout the innovation process—before, during, and after.
Employing a qualitative research methodology with a phenomenological design, the study aimed to explore these challenges in depth.
Marhouna and her research team conducted interviews with 30 students who had previously engaged in competitions or received research funding from the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.
To provide a well-rounded perspective, the study took into account the diversity of participants based on their years of involvement and the levels of achievement attained by the student teams or companies.
The study's primary findings identified several interconnected challenges in innovation management, indicating that issues arising in one phase often carry over to subsequent phases, underscoring the necessity of early-stage planning.
Researcher Marhouna detailed that the initial phase's challenges revolved around the exploration of innovative ideas, team assembly, and the selection of appropriate supervisors.
The challenges in the second phase were a continuation of those in the first and encompassed personal difficulties, regulatory policies, availability of human and financial resources, logistical support, inter-entity coordination, access to incubators, knowledge, and data, as well as issues related to decision-makers.
In the third phase, challenges included insufficient follow-up after competitions, limitations in entities' readiness to adopt innovations, human resource issues, and challenges related to market and societal factors.
Marhouna recommended enhancing focus on innovation management through proactive planning for all three phases and developing targeted policies for innovative students to ease their processes throughout these stages.
The research was published in the Educational Studies journal at the University of Jordan.
The research team included Marhouna, Prof. Aisha Salim Al Harthi, Dr. Khalaf Marhoon Al Abri, and Prof. Said Suliman Al Dhafri.
In relation to her award, researcher Marhouna expressed that “winning the National Research Award motivates me to continue the entire research project and encourages further research initiatives that contribute, even modestly, to the nation. Additionally, the success of this project amplifies the voices of innovative students, who I hope will gain increased attention from stakeholders, as they represent the future and promising potential of the Sultanate of Oman.”
