Sultan Qaboos University opened in Muscat, the capital of Oman, in 1986, when there were only 500 students. There are now more than 7,000. It is situated in a valley beneath the Oman Mountains and is the only public university in the country.
The institution originally had five colleges, but there are now nine in total. These include medicine, engineering, agriculture, education, science, arts, commerce and economics, law and nursing.
The buildings on the campus are made from white and pink sandstone and have been constructed on an axis with one end pointing towards Mecca. There is a university mosque while nearly all of the buildings include a prayer room. There is separate access to buildings for men and women, as well as segregated seating in the classrooms.
There are also two sports complexes – one for male students and one for female students. Each one includes football pitches, athletics fields, outdoor stadiums, volleyball playgrounds, indoor sports halls, a swimming pool, and squash courts.
But the city of Muscat itself, which is flanked by mountains and the Persian Gulf, also has much to offer, including the Mutrah Souk, large parks, shopping centres, beaches and sand dunes.
Between 2010 and 2015, the university recruited students from 38 countries, while academics hailed from 69 nations. The institution also collaborates with universities across the world; it has agreements with universities in Asia, Europe, Australasia, North America and South America.
The university has seven core values. These are: professionalism, excellence, commitment, integrity, loyalty, collaboration and equity.
