On February 13, 2011, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi’s permanent campus on Reem Island officially opened. The event was attended by the French prime minister at the time, Francois Fillon, and Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.
The Abu Dhabi outpost was born in 2006 when the UAE and France signed an agreement to expand the prestigious university for the first time outside its home country. The project was supported by the Abu Dhabi government, which invested $100 million to set up the campus.
Before moving to their 9.3-hectare campus on Reem Island, Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi took up temporary residence in a building near Al Maqta Bridge. Classes were then moved to Reem Island in December 2009. By 2011, the university had more than 600 students, 34 per cent of whom were Emirati.
“France entered into this project because the UAE projects dynamism and responsibility. The formal opening of the campus demonstrates the bond of trust between the countries,” Fillon said at the campus opening.
Georges Molinie, then president of the Paris Sorbonne, said the university would offer a master’s degree in museum studies in collaboration with the Louvre Museum and School in France, which postgraduate students can now enrol for.
The Reem Island campus offers a modern and dynamic learning environment with state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories and auditoriums. The campus also has a two-storey library with books brought in from the Paris campus, as well as important books and research papers from around the world. It has a sports complex and an expansive food hall.
Students are also provided with career planning by professionals who help through workshops, internships and networking events.
Today, the university has three schools – Arts and Humanities; Law, Economics and Business; and Data, Science and Engineering – which offer 12 bachelor’s degrees and 14 master’s degrees in both French and English.
Paris Sorbonne has a rich and long history. Founded in 1257, it was one of numerous colleges that housed poor students on the hillsides of the Montagne Sainte-Genevieve. It was rebuilt by Cardinal Richelieu, who was King Louis XIII's chief minister in the 17th century. It was closed by the French Revolution in 1791 and turned into artists' studios in 1801. In 1821, the Sorbonne once again devoted itself to teaching and continues to do so until today.
Four Nobel laureates have graduated from the Sorbonne, including Emmanuelle Charpentier, the 2020 Nobel Prize in chemistry winner. Famous alumni also include Polish chemist Marie Curie, French filmmaker Julia Ducournau, Lebanese-French historian Habib Tawa, French economist Dominique Strauss-Kahn and American fashion designer Vera Wang.
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
Started: October 2021
Founders: Tamer Amer and Karim Maurice
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Industry: technology, logistics
Investors: A15 and self-funded
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
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- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ireland v Denmark: The last two years
Denmark 1-1 Ireland
7/06/19, Euro 2020 qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
19/11/2018, Nations League
Ireland 0-0 Denmark
13/10/2018, Nations League
Ireland 1 Denmark 5
14/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
Denmark 0-0 Ireland
11/11/2017, World Cup qualifier
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
Januzaj's club record
Manchester United 50 appearances, 5 goals
Borussia Dortmund (loan) 6 appearances, 0 goals
Sunderland (loan) 25 appearances, 0 goals
