A delegation from the Embassy of the Sultanate of Oman visited Newark in early October to expand its collaboration with the University of Delaware.

Cultural Attaché Zaid Zabanoot and Moayed Al-Hawazi, head of the academic department in the Ministry of Higher Education, were hosted by UD staff from the Office of Admissions international section, the English Language Institute, and the Center for Global Programs and Services.

Delegation members met with faculty from the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and the College of Engineering, toured the Geltzeiler Trading Center, engineering maker spaces and design laboratories, and shared ice cream with Omani Blue Hens at Main Street’s UDairy Creamery.

UD hopes to welcome more Omani students — including graduate students — supporting the partnership’s shared vision to foster future leaders while cultivating a community of global scholars. This strategic alliance was formalized in 2019, creating a pipeline for qualified Omani students to pursue undergraduate degrees via direct admission or UD’s English language pathway program, Academic Transitions.

“Our applications from Oman were in the single digits until last year; however, Omani applications for spring and fall 2021 rose to over 100,” said Erin Bastien, assistant director for international admissions, who added that indications show that these numbers will hold or grow.

UD welcomed a cohort of nearly 40 Omani students in spring 2021, the majority in an ELI foundation year program that intensively prepares them for an American undergraduate degree.