Qaboos bin Said al Said
Before being renamed and upgraded as such in 2001, UTAS was known as Oman Technical Industrial College (OTIC), established in 1984 at the initiative of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said to educate the citizens of Oman by implementing high-quality programs in various fields. There are five other Colleges of Technology established in 1993 except the ones in Shinas and Ibri, which were started in 2005 and 2008, respectively. HCT is the only college under the Ministry of Manpower that offers programs at the Bachelor's degree and Master’s degree level. In contrast, the other Colleges of Technology offer programs only up to the Higher Diploma level.