The Communication and Information Research Center supports the development of scientific research and contributes to the sultanate by promoting the process of transferring sustainable technology to the country. In addition, the center implements research strategies which meet the information and communication technology requirements of Oman in both the short and long terms focusing on modern digital technologies associated with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Since its inception, the center has accomplished a number of achievements mainly in capacity building, setting R&D labs, contributing to research and consultancy, organizing scientific events, serving the community, building links with different research and industry units, and cooperating with academicians and researchers within and outside SQU.

CIRC has signed a number of research cooperation agreements with public and private institutions in the ICT sector in Oman namely:

• Ministry of Transport, Information and Communications Technology

• Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA)

• Omantel

• mOmkin Oman

• Others 

CIRC is building a strong research plan aligned with the short, and long term needs of the Sultanate of Oman in ICT with the believe that human resources are the most valuable component for obtaining strong research results. These are to be developed in parallel with granted projects and adequate infrastructure, enrollment of high quality full time personnel, a strong Master’s and PhD programs and candidates, and goals set in line with the funded research projects.

Vision:

CIRC aspires to have a national and regional leading role in research and also to be internationally recognized as an excellent hub of innovative research in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Mission:

The research mission of CIRC is to develop a research culture and capacity, generate knowledge and find solutions to the current and future challenges for ICT strategic issues in the Sultanate with the collaboration of national and international partners.

Objectives: 

The goal of the Communication and Information Research Center is to team with industrial partners to generate solutions to current and future technical challenges related to ICT topics. These solutions are most likely to involve the amalgamation off-the-shelf technology, advanced prototype technology and basic information technology research.

CIRC strives to achieve the following objectives:

1- Identify relevant world-class technologies and transfer it to industry.

2- Increase the flow of “Sultan Qaboos University” trained researchers skilled in the understanding and application of the strategic technologies.

3- Organize seminars, symposia, workshops and conferences on ICT issues with the assistance of local, regional and international partners.

Recent and Coming Activities: 

1- Second Blockchain Symposium December 2018.

2- Fourth Free and Open Source Software Conference February 2019.

3- International Symposium for Telemedicine and AI in Medicine February 2020.

4- Fifth Free and Open Source Software Conference February 2022.

5- Third Information Security Gathering April 2022.

IoT Lab
The Communication and Information Research Center (CIRC) has established the Internet of Things laboratory in April 2019 funded by Omantel and mOmkin to enhance IoT usage in Oman and the region by conducting training and research and enhancing teaching and learning. Internet of Things Laboratory has sufficient advanced resources e.g. computers, switches, access points, smart board, and others to do research and run most of the software scenarios, software development and testing. The IoT lab has different IoT tools including: Arduino kit, Raspberry-Pi 3 kit, IoTify simulator, Open Rex and more. The IoT Lab has the following objectives:

• Promote awareness on the use and development of Smart city solutions.

• Provide an attractive environment for research and networking between IoT and smart city users and experts.

• Share mutual experiences and discuss prospective implementations of Smart Cities

FOSS Lab
Communication and Information Research Center (CIRC) has established in 2013 Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) laboratory jointly with Information Technology Authority (ITA). The purpose of the FOSS lab is to enhance FOSS usage in Oman by research and delivering training and workshops. The lab hosts and offers variety of short courses for the students and the community in many diverse subjects. CIRC is supervising the students’ free & open source software society (FO3S) and opens the lab for them to use in training and to accomplish their projects.

Research, Consultancy and Training on Communications and Information technology which includes:

1- Artificial Intelligence.

2- Biomedical Engineering.

3- Communication Systems

4- Coding & Cryptography

5- Computer Hardware Design

6- Computer Networks (Wired, Wireless, Optical...)

7- Database Systems

8- Data Transmission

9- Electronic Commerce Information Systems

10- Internet of Things (IOT)

11- Multimedia (Computer Graphics, Audio and Image and Video Processing)

12- Network Security Robotics & Automation

13- Software Engineering

14- Sensors Networks

15- Signal Processing

16- Telemedicine

17- Smart Cities

Our Offices At Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). All offices of the Communication and Information Research Center are located temporary in Villa 5. 

Scan the code to get the location in google maps. 

Omantel Supported Projects

The Communication and Information Research Center

P.O. Box 17, Postal Code 123

Sultan Qaboos University

Al Khoud, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

Tel No.: (968) 2414 3696 / 2414 1303

Fax No.: (968) 2441 4336

Email: circ@squ.edu.om