Dr. Juma Saleh Al Ghailani, Founder and Managing Director of Mazoon University College and Bayan College had recently visited the two premier American institutions which have earned their names due to their excellence in education- Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(popularly known as M.I.T.). The nature of this official visit was to closely study the academic machinery of the top two universities in the world. He was immensely pleased with the warm welcome he had received at Harvard, and was thoroughly impressed with the interactive atmosphere present at both establishments. The staff and students alike had engaged in casual yet intellectual discussions,which allowed Dr. Juma to be more than a keen observer of the proceedings there. Dr. Juma offered his two cents about the visitation to Harvard and M.I.T: “Mazoon University College and Bayan College, while paving its way towards academic excellence has internalized and yet modified the American education system to suit the dedicated students of Oman. The reason the two institutions have looked towards the likes of the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and Purdue University for their affiliations was due to the standards set by the top universities in their pursuit towards brilliance.” He expressed his observations regarding the stark cultural difference in the operations of the Universities in the West, particularly those in America and the ones in Oman. “We need to plan to bridge these differences and bring internationally acclaimed quality education to the Sultanate”, stated Dr. Juma. The Harvard Admission Centre, part of the 375 year old Harvard University, and M.I.T. engaged Dr. Juma towards envisioning both Mazoon and Bayan College at a similar height of pride in their educational services. Mazoon University College is already well known in the region, with Bayan College following in its footsteps. The essence of the visit to Harvard and M.I.T. was to encourage both Mazoon and Bayan to be the best in the Sultanate and beyond. Mazoon College is one of the leading colleges in the Sultanate which is affiliated to the Missouri University for Science and Technology (USA). It is renowned as one of the oldest universities in America. Bayan College is the first private institution in the Sultanate to offer degrees in Media Studies in English, for it perceives the language to be the lingua franca of the jobmarket. Bayan College which will shift to its brand new state-of-the-art Halbaan campus soon, works under the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education and is affiliated to the prestigious Purdue University, Calumet, located in the state of Indiana, the U.S.A.
