Ali Al Shidhani is the Group VP of Technology at ASYAD Group. His mandate is to develop
and steer technology and innovation strategy for ASYAD Group. Previously, he was the Director
of Research Centers at the Research Council in Oman. He managed research centers and led
the development of new centers. Also, he managed Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) Research at The Research Council of Oman. As a director of ICT Research, his mission at
work was to push the national ICT research and innovation agenda forward through several
programs and initiatives. Prior to that, Ali was a visiting researcher at City University London
where he researched the topic of information security in future cities. Ali started his career as
a full-time Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Sultan
Qaboos University where he was teaching, conducting research and supervising undergraduate and
postgraduate projects. Ali developed and taught several courses in Digital Logic Design,
Embedded Systems Design, Systems Design for Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computing
Systems and Programming Languages. His research interest is in wireless security and has
published several scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and international conferences in
addition to a book chapter. Ali received his B.Eng degree in Electrical and Computer
Engineering from Sultan Qaboos University in 2001, Masters of IT in Data Communications from
Queensland University of Technology, Australia in 2003. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical
and Computer Engineering from the University of British Columbia, Canada in 2010. Ali is a
member of several national ICT committees and has delivered numerous presentations in ICT in
national and international conferences and forums.