Khalifa Saleh Al-Mawali, who commenced his studies at RMIT in 2001 as an ELICOS* student, is testamount to this fact—he has just started his PhD. “I had to improve my English language skills, so my first RMIT program was ELICOS at RMIT English Worldwide. I studied two English levels: Intermediate and Upper Intermediate. That was enough to get me into Foundation Studies, where I studied Science, Engineering and Technology.
“RMIT’s Foundation Studies program prepared me for my bachelor’s degree. Despite the fact that I had already studied most of the foundation courses (e.g. mathematics and physics) in my secondary school in Oman, the Foundation Studies program strengthened my English language skills, especially in engineering terminology. It also deepened my understanding of science and engineering fundamentals,” he said. Follow-up studies show that Foundation Studies students are amongst the highest performing students at RMIT. Of the students who successfully completed their RMIT Foundation Studies program in 2006, almost 90% continued on to higher education at RMIT University.
When Khalifa commenced his undergraduate degree in 2003, he chose the Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical)/Bachelor of Business Administration double degree, before changing to the Bachelor of Engineering (Communication Engineering) program.

Engineering program
“RMIT has a great reputation for excellence in engineering-related programs. The good thing about the Bachelor of Engineering program is that you study all of the relevant interest areas within the School of Engineering, before choosing the stream you would like to major in.
“When I first started my course, like most students, I didn’t really know much, but once we started studying the areas in depth, I learnt more about the topics, and became really interested in them. So in my case it was study that was really good, the teachers were really good, and that is how I ended up choosing communications engineering. “Communication engineering is about transmitting information from one place to another. Everyone deals with communication engineering technology on a daily basis. For example, if you use the Internet, listen to the radio, talk on the telephone, mobile phone, or watch TV, you are using communication engineering technology. This also includes the use of satellites,” he said. Khalifa completed his Bachelor of Engineering (Communication Engineering) degree in 2006, and earlier this year enrolled in the Doctor of Philosophy - Engineering:
Communication/Electronic Engineering. Outstanding academic success has allowed Khalifa to progress through his studies at a rapid pace—most students are required to complete their masters before they are able to enrol into a PhD.
“I think I progressed through my studies so well because I really liked what I was studying. I really wasn’t expecting to get to this level so quickly. I thought I would be doing my PhD aged 40!
“I’m looking forward to returning to Oman with my PhD, where I hope to help in improving the telecommunication sector in my country.”
When asked about his overall experience at RMIT, Khalifa replied: “Everything is available at RMIT. RMIT’s library gives students access to international databases, which is great as it saves students from subscribing themselves. RMIT has many computer labs and all the software you need. I can’t remember ever needing anything and not finding it at RMIT.”