Mr. Derek O`Connell has spent the last 25 years teaching ESL abroad at various reputable post secondary academic institutions. He has taught English in South Korea for 7.5 years, prior to coming to Sultanate of Oman in 2005. During the past 19 years, Derek has progressed as an IELP Instructor, Assistant Director of FI, Director of TWC, Director of LEC, and now heads the Student Success System as its founding Director that oversees TWC, LEC, TOEFL & Anjiz at the UoN. He is credited for establishing the first writing center in the Sultanate of Oman in 2009 and the largest within the GCC with a recorded 150,000+ appointments served in assisting students through established academic support initiatives. He served as the Vice President of the Middle East North African Writing Center Association (MENAWCA) from 2011-13. As well, he has served as the sole convener of the Academic Support Board since 2009, oversees the daily operations of 4 academic support units at the UoN with an administrative team of 5 full time employees, 2 language instructors, and a peer mentoring team of 60+ peer tutors from an array of academic disciplines. His contributions to the UoN has led to commendations in 2011 from the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA) and was instrumental in the University of Nizwa being the first academic institution in Oman to achieve full and unconditional accreditation in 2023.