Sapientia Associates was contracted by Only from New Zealand, working for NEOM, to deliver the following outputs to local tour operators in Tabuk region (north-west Saudi Arabia):

The scope of the assignment was as follows:

• Assessment of Tabuk region Tour Operators against a set criterion for good practice Tour Operator business Operation (Training needs Analysis?).

• Development of operator mentoring/business advisor programme to support Transitional processes for Tour Operator provisional (or grace period) licensing.

• Providing training/mentoring and support to Tour Operators through the Transition period.

• Development of the Tour Operator Training programmme provided through online, workshops and 1:1 support to enable Tour Operators to obtain a full license (entry-level license only)

• Definition and specification of the Phase 2 Tour operator training programme aligned with the achievement of the Obligatory Requirements of DQMS Level 1(Good).

• Provision of in-country transitional training and support for the provisional licence/grace period.

NEOM is the world’s most ambitious development project, seeking to create not just a new city but a new way of living. Sited in NW Saudi Arabia and encompassing dramatic mountains, desert and sea the project recognises the importance of adventure both as a lifestyle offer for residents and as a tourist draw. The ambition is to develop a full range of top quality adventure sports assets, positioning NEOM as a world class destination. We have worked with the sports team across a range of projects since early 2020 and this work remains ongoing.

Working with UK company Venturextreme, and adventure industry experts, Chris and Sue lead the team to implement the following for NEOM:

Development of overarching regulatory framework for NEOM adventure sport and recreation activities to empower legislation

Defining scope of Adventure Sport Activities within NEOM/Trojena.

Development of Activity Safety Guidelines for specific  adventure activities

Development of a safety audit programme standard for NEOM adventure sports

Development of guide/guiding standards for NEOM adventure sports

Development of training system (guides and auditors) – with an associated delivery mechanisms for training and assessment.

 Chris Knol lead a team of 5 New Zealand consultants and 13 Omani training officials on a 12 month project  to develop a training programme for Omani Secondary School principals.

The Specialised Centre for the Professional Training of Teachers was developed and implemented to play a leading role in the Sultanate of Oman of providing sustained, intensive accredited professional development to create highly skilled, confidence and motivated educators.

The Centre is a national body which will work with all schools and a number of teachers and regional officials.

The project outcome was the Training of Oman secondary school principals to learn techniques to shift leaders' thinking and practice from administrative to instructional leadership and future-focused learning environments could be a slow iterative change process.

Chris Knol was Project/programme director for a team of 9 expatriate consultants and 19 Omani Ministry of Education staff to undertake  a review of the delivery of secondary education in the sultanate of Oman.

There are three levels education system review required:

The Omani Minister of Education initiated a project to develop an evaluation framework to assess the education system and ongoing progress in implementing the Oman Education reforms.

The project developed and evaluation framework  focused on all parts of the education system, and applied to the national and regional directorates and departments of the Ministry as well as schools.

The core evaluation questions answered were “how well are we doing?” and “how do we know?”

The goals of the project were to:

• Design a framework to continuously evaluate Oman’s Grades 1 to 12 education system

• Pilot the Framework and refine it using feedback received from the piloting

• Develop plans with priority actions to implement and operate the Framework

• Develop the skills of Ministry staff to understand and operate the Framework and teach others to use it.

The project took 18 months and was successfully concluded.

The Polytechnic of Bahrain project was a five to eight year undertaking to build a new polytechnic. The fully operational polytechnic was expected to enrol 3,000 to 5,000 full-time students.

This project included establishing all infrastructure, staff training, curriculum purchase, capital expenditure, facilities preparation and student resourcing. Phase 1 completed the design and planning for infrastructure, academic and curriculum plan for five years, staff recruiting schedules, financial infrastructure required and facilities feasibility.

The project outcomes were as follows:

Access to higher education: To provide access to higher education for students wishing to pursue a post-secondary education that is closely related to the needs of the labour market.

Programs: Programs focused on fields that were in demand from the labour market, and which require strong professional and/or technical skills. Programs were TVET and different in nature and outcome from university programs. The Project provided the international partner with an assessment of labour market needs across sectors prior to the start of the project.

Faculty: Ensured Teaching faculty had more practical/applied experience than their university counterparts

Links with the private sector: In order to serve the needs of the private sector, the polytechnic formed a strong relationship with companies and private sector representatives. These relationships are important both at the policy level (selecting and designing programs that meet private sector needs through department-based advisory committees) and at the teaching level (providing work placement opportunities for students and helping faculty to maintain current knowledge of their respective industries)

Qualifications; The Polytechnic developed and granted a 2-year Diploma and a 4-year Polytechnic Bachelor. It developed an option for Diploma program students to join the Polytechnic Bachelor track based on transparent criteria.

Quality Assurance: The Polytechnic was subject to the inspections of the newly created Bahrain Quality Assurance Authority. It was also aware of the risk of "academic drift" and ensured that the governance structure of the new Polytechnic preserved it from such risks (e.g. by separating its governance from the university governance framework, and by establishing clear standards for Polytechnics).

Chris Knol facilitated and participated in many high level meetings at the Ministry of Manpower to discuss building collegial relationships with NZITPs )Institutes of Technology). Chris worked with NZITPs to design several programme transfer documents for the consideration by the Oman Ministry of Manpower. The project completed transfer of NZITP programmes to selected Colleges of Technology in Oman.

The project was designed to build a relationship between the Colleges of Technology in Oman (managed by the Oman Ministry of Manpower) and New Zealand Institutes of Technology (ITPS). Project Objectives were:

1. To identify the needs of Oman's Colleges of Technology and Vocational Training Centres (and similar institutions including the Higher College of Technology in Muscat) with respect to:

• The introduction of vocationally relevant and internationally bench-marked programmes of study and training.

• The professional development of teaching and technical support personnel.

• The development of systems of academic quality assurance aimed at maintaining standards consistent with the needs of employing industries and the requirements of providers of more advanced education.

2. To negotiate with participating New Zealand ITPs for the provision of the intellectual property, expert personnel, professional development and quality assurance support necessary to meet the needs of the MoM and Omani industry and commerce.

3. To establish the financial basis for such transfers of appropriate programmes and associated supporting services.

4. To explore the potential for articulation between programmes offered and to be established in Colleges of Technology and Vocational Training Centres .

5. To advise on a system for the maintenance of internationally accepted quality performance, including the development of a set of agreed, internationally benchmarked standards, the establishment of quality managements systems, and the monitoring and auditing of institutional performance against the agreed standards.

6. To create collegial relationships between staff of New Zealand ITPs and Omani Colleges of Technology and Vocational Training Centres with a view to providing opportunities for the exchange of ideas and personnel leading to an improved understanding of technical education in an international context.

7. To provide opportunities for Omani students to proceed to more advanced studies and training in New Zealand.

The project was designed to build a relationship between the Colleges of Technology in Oman (managed by the Oman Ministry of Manpower) and New Zealand Institutes of Technology (ITPS). Project Objectives were:

1. To identify the needs of Oman's Colleges of Technology and Vocational Training Centres (and similar institutions including the Higher College of Technology in Muscat) with respect to:

• The introduction of vocationally relevant and internationally bench-marked programmes of study and training.

• The professional development of teaching and technical support personnel.

• The development of systems of academic quality assurance aimed at maintaining standards consistent with the needs of employing industries and the requirements of providers of more

advanced education.

2. To negotiate with participating New Zealand ITPs for the provision of the intellectual property, expert

personnel, professional development and quality assurance support necessary to meet the needs of the MoM and Omani industry and commerce.

3. To establish the financial basis for such transfers of appropriate programmes and associated supporting services.

4. To explore the potential for articulation between programmes offered and to be established in Colleges of Technology and Vocational Training Centres .

5. To advise on a system for the maintenance of internationally accepted quality performance, including the development of a set of agreed, internationally benchmarked standards, the establishment of quality managements systems, and the monitoring and auditing of institutional performance against the agreed standards.

6. To create collegial relationships between staff of New Zealand ITPs and Omani Colleges of Technology and Vocational Training Centres with a view to providing opportunities for the exchange of ideas and personnel leading to an improved understanding of technical education in an international context.

7. To provide opportunities for Omani students to proceed to more advanced studies and training in New Zealand.