On their way to university last year, a couple of students in Amman were running late.
Ala' Ibrahim Abu-Lail was in a car, and a friend was at the wheel. The driver was speeding and the car flipped. Ms Abu-Lail survived without any serious injuries but her friend was left a quadriplegic.
The friend has since returned home to Kuwait, while Ms Abu-Lail, a student at Jordan University of Science and Technology, has devised a voice-controlled wheelchair. She spent US$800 (Dh2,938) on a prototype of the chair, which she discussed publicly for the first time at the first Arab Innovation Network (AIN) conference in Abu Dhabi this month.
"In Jordan we do not have this kind of gathering from where we can learn [about other students' work]," says Ms Abu-Lail, 23.
To encourage networking among young innovators like Ms Abu-Lail, and push private companies to support research in the Arab world, a group of students and recent alumni of Cambridge University from the region organised their first conference in the capital. The group, the Arab Innovation Network Society of the University of Cambridge, says it was a platform for university students from the Middle East to showcase science projects and compete for prizes.
Their association is open to Arab university students, regardless of whether they went to Cambridge.
"Innovation can happen within networks, which has to be flexible and supportive and have a clear sense of purpose," Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, said at the conference.
"Hope you will touch upon the challenges facing us and young entrepreneurs, including quality of education, few resources devoted to research, and limited research supported by the private sector."
In 2008, the public and private sectors in the Arab countries cut spending on research as a percentage of their GDP, according to the United Nations Development Programme's Arab Knowledge Report released this year.
In Kuwait it was 0.09 per cent while it was 0.23 per cent in Egypt. By contrast, it was 3.46 per cent in Finland, 2.52 per cent in Singapore and 4.86 per cent in Israel.
While groups like AIN help innovators with networking, maintaining the enthusiasm of the wider innovation community in the Arab world can be tough, says Mohamed Khater, the director of the programme for management, policy and innovation in Middle East at Cambridge University.
Other challenges include "finding the resources to continue organising events regularly and maintaining AIN's daily activities, and mobilising other stakeholders like governments, businesses, universities, and financial vehicles while maintaining a neutral standpoint as a volunteer organisation."
That said, some of the IT and internet-based projects at the conference caught his fancy as an investor, too. But these need some tweaking to be marketable, he says.
At the conference, 24 students showcased their projects on health, environment, communication and entrepreneurship. These included a prenatal app that would help pregnant mothers to receive medical information, a digital walking stick for blind people - both from Emirati students - and, from a Palestinian student, a way to use geographic information systems for sustainable agriculture and waste water reuse.
"Most ideas are too premature to be commercialised," says Mariam Al Qubaisi, a co-ordinator of the conference and a co-founder of the alumni group. "So, we need to invest in brains; these people need mentorship." The network aims to put the competition winners in touch with academic or industrial partners who can help them to further develop their ideas and teach cash flow for their enterprises.
In 2009, Ms Al Qubaisi won a large sum at an entrepreneurship competition. She spent it on business-building within a month.
Ms Abu-Lail's voice-controlled wheelchair won first prize in the health category. Though there is no money involved, she learnt that registering her equipment was important to prevent plagiarism. "Many presented ideas [at the conference] for collaboration to move forward whether in enhancing or marketing my project," she says.
ssahoo@thenational.ae
ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Hot%20Seat
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20James%20Cullen%20Bressack%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Mel%20Gibson%2C%20Kevin%20Dillon%2C%20Shannen%20Doherty%2C%20Sam%20Asghari%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%201%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
THE%20SPECS
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
Company%20Profile
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Match info
Newcastle United 1
Joselu (11')
Tottenham Hotspur 2
Vertonghen (8'), Alli (18')
The UN General Assembly President in quotes:
YEMEN: “The developments we have seen are promising. We really hope that the parties are going to respect the agreed ceasefire. I think that the sense of really having the political will to have a peace process is vital. There is a little bit of hope and the role that the UN has played is very important.”
PALESTINE: “There is no easy fix. We need to find the political will and comply with the resolutions that we have agreed upon.”
OMAN: “It is a very important country in our system. They have a very important role to play in terms of the balance and peace process of that particular part of the world, in that their position is neutral. That is why it is very important to have a dialogue with the Omani authorities.”
REFORM OF THE SECURITY COUNCIL: “This is complicated and it requires time. It is dependent on the effort that members want to put into the process. It is a process that has been going on for 25 years. That process is slow but the issue is huge. I really hope we will see some progress during my tenure.”
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.