MUSCAT: The 2026 Duqm Summer Series (DSS) centres on the people who will turn investment in Al Duqm into lasting economic value. Hosted by the Special Economic Zone at Duqm from August 23 to 25 at the Crowne Plaza Duqm, the three-day event examines developments changing how companies operate and grow.
Held over three evenings, DSS opens with Intelligent Machines examining how AI and robotics are changing today’s workplace. The following evening, Leading Without a Playbook considers how executives make decisions when tariffs, geopolitical tensions and incomplete information leave little precedent. The Business of Culture closes the three-day series by examining how a company’s culture shapes the customer experience and, in turn, how the business is remembered.
Women made up 61 per cent of graduates from higher education institutions in Oman in 2025. Many will enter the job market where AI is taking on work once handled by experienced teams and where skills are losing value faster than qualifications can be updated. They are also entering an economy creating new kinds of work. Oman’s non-oil activities generated RO 29.1 billion in 2025, including RO 4 billion from manufacturing. Non-oil activity increased 5.9 per cent in Q1 2026. Growth is widening career choices available to graduates, although it will also expose them to industries changing faster than many employers expected.
Hanan al Siyabi, Section Head, Tourism & Lifestyle at SEZAD, said the consequences are reaching well beyond IT departments. “AI is changing who does the work and what employers value. Effects are being felt in recruitment and career progression. Women starting work today will face choices many established leaders didn’t meet at the same stage of their careers. We want the DSS to be a place where those experiences are discussed honestly and openly, including the occasions when there was no ready-made answer”.
The Business of Culture examines the role culture plays in how a company operates, not only how it presents itself. It shapes what customers receive and how they are treated. Marketing may attract the public’s attention but the experience of dealing with the business is what people remember.
The DSS speakers bring a wealth of experience from academia and business. Sultan Qaboos University and the Royal Academy of Management will take part, alongside Development Bank and Sohar International Bank. SalamAir and OQ8 are also represented, as are OPAZ and the Ministry of Economy. Founders working in technology and design complete the three-day line-up.
SEZAD sees the development of Al Duqm’s workforce as critical to its continued growth and success. Large-scale investment is creating new opportunities. SEZAD also wants to ensure the people already contributing to Al Duqm can continue to grow with it.
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