Ammar Alsheghri, along with his colleagues Abdullah Al Hammadi and Mohammed Humood (not pictured), showcased their Solar Thermal Desalination Unit. Lee Hoagland/The National
Ammar Alsheghri, along with his colleagues Abdullah Al Hammadi and Mohammed Humood (not pictured), showcased their Solar Thermal Desalination Unit. Lee Hoagland/The National

Khalifa University's latest inventions



KU-Rise: Automatic Window-Cleaning System:

This offers an efficient and fast way to clean windows on high-rise buildings. The pneumatic system is able to clean on vertical surfaces using a slider mechanism and a rotating brush, along with a spray unit. A water tank in the middle of the system supplies the water to wash the windows. The vertical movement of the system is controlled by a lifting mechanism placed on top of the building. Its cleaning capacity is five square metres a minute. The machine was built in eight months by Mohammed Abu Abdo, Mohammed Shehada and Ruba Saleh, students in mechanical engineering.

Smart Wi-Fi Mobile Data-Acquisition System Architecture for Biomedical Applications:

Many hospital patients must be connected to an electrocardiograph (ECG) machine and monitored by doctors. Conventional wires connect ECG sensors to patients. This system uses Wi-Fi to create a portable data-acquisition system capable of using other devices, such as laptops, smartphones and tablets. The mobile Wi-Fi-based system can capture an analog or digital signal at a sufficient speed to make it available through a Wi-Fi module. It was built in six months by Lama Mahmoud, Amina Belkadi, Tasneem Assaf and Tamador Alboshra, students in communication and electronic engineering.

Solar Thermal Desalination Unit:

Seawater is preheated through a vacuumed condenser. It then flows inside a tank to be indirectly heated by a heat-transfer fluid. That circulates inside a flat plate solar collector facing south to absorb solar energy. After the temperature rises, it goes through an expansion valve and flashes in a vacuumed chamber to form brine and vapour. The vapour moves to the condenser and forms freshwater by losing latent heat. The machine was built in four months by Abdullah Alhammadi, Mohammed Humood and Ammar Alsheghri, students in mechanical engineering. * Caline Malek

Where to donate in the UAE

The Emirates Charity Portal

You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments

The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Al Noor Special Needs Centre

You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.

Beit Al Khair Society

Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.

Dar Al Ber Society

Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.

Dubai Cares

Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.

Emirates Airline Foundation

Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.

Emirates Red Crescent

On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.

Gulf for Good

Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.

Noor Dubai Foundation

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).

The Outsider

Stephen King, Penguin

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
TOURNAMENT INFO

Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier

Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November

UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi