SQU begins new academic year, welcomes 3,132 new students

Oman Sunday 31/August/2025 15:14 PM
By: Times News Service
SQU begins new academic year, welcomes 3,132 new students

Muscat: The Sultan Qaboos University marked the beginning of the new academic year (2025/2026) on Sunday by welcoming 3,132 students admitted to undergraduate studies as part of its 40th intake.

The reception formed part of the University’s annual orientation programme, designed to prepare students for the start of their academic journey.

At the opening of the ceremony, His Highness Sayyid Dr. Fahd bin Al Julanda Al Said, the Vice-Chancellor, welcomed the new students, stressing that university life represents a pivotal role in enhancing both academic and personal growth.

He highlighted the importance of adopting a forward-looking perspective that enables students to shape their academic and professional paths with awareness and responsibility.

His Highness further underlined the need for a balance between academic study and extracurricular engagement, which provides opportunities to develop skills, foster initiative and teamwork, and acquire essential competencies required in today’s competitive and fast-paced world.

The event, held at the Grand Hall of the Cultural Centre, featured a welcoming short film and an introductory presentation on SQU, its colleges, and student services.

Sessions were organised with the Deanship of Student Affairs and the Centre for Preparatory Studies, offering students insights into academic programmes, the advisory system, healthcare and psychological services, as well as extracurricular and volunteer opportunities that enrich the student experience.

New students were also introduced to the digital platforms and academic regulations, ensuring a smooth transition into university life from day one.

New students expressed that the orientation programme helped ease their anxieties, offered clarity on academic and administrative matters, and gave them a sense of belonging to a larger family.

From the organisational side, the programme’s success was attributed to the collaborative efforts of various university units, with student volunteers emphasising the pride and responsibility they felt in ensuring their peers received full support from the moment they arrived on campus.

The orientation was preceded on Saturday, 30 August, by the allocation of student housing.

A total of 1,026 male students were accommodated in Al-Raha residential complexes, 939 female students in on-campus housing, and 18 students with disabilities were provided with specialised facilities.

The Deanship of Student Affairs oversaw the housing process to ensure smooth integration before the orientation began.

Several other units, including the Deanship of Admissions and Registration and the colleges, contributed by offering advisory and support sessions to provide students with essential information for their academic journey.

This year’s orientation continues the University’s tradition of welcoming new cohorts by strengthening institutional belonging, instilling academic responsibility, and equipping students with the knowledge and tools to pursue their aspirations with confidence.

Reports from previous years have shown that such programmes enhance student satisfaction and help ease their integration into the university environment, an approach that SQU is keen to build upon with every new academic year.