It may be years before someone from the UAE wins a Formula One race, but at schools level, at least, the region has already taken the podium. Last weekend, two teams represented the country in the winner's circle at the international F1 In Schools Championship, held before the Singapore Grand Prix. Zero.9, a team comprised of four students from the Indian High School Dubai and three students from a school in Australia, finished second overall and won the award for Best Collaboration. Team Impulse, with six students from Dubai College, won the Best Sportsman prize.
The trophies are not all these students will take away with them. "If you look at the students that are going to Singapore this year, its clear that they have matured enormously," said Peter Hill, headmaster at Dubai College, on the eve of the team's departure. "It has been a tremendous learning experience for them," he added. "They learn here in the classroom, but I expect they will remember the skills they have developed from this for a lot longer."
For hundreds of children around the world, this competition was the culmination of many months of dedicated work. Each year, the winning team is awarded the Bernie Ecclestone Trophy - from the F1 commercial rights holder himself - and every member receives the offer of a scholarship to study automotive engineering at university. Many would have sacrificed their social agenda to find time for the project, which requires a group of students to act as a real F1 team by building a miniature car, constructing an elaborate pit display and putting together a detailed project.
"You can't go out and see your friends as much," said Naomi Leech of Team Impulse, which won the national championships in the UAE last June. Pooja Nair, a teammate from India, added: "Over the summer, we were all in different countries so it was really hard to stay on top of our project in the lead up to the final," she added. The night before they flew to Singapore last weekend was a flurry of last-minute preparations. Stickers, which bear the team logo and names of hard-won sponsors, had to be placed on the car by a specialist company - air bubbles could slow it down. The branded chocolates were ready for collection but their third set of team t-shirts still hadn't arrived. Worse, the professionally sprayed paint on the car proved five times heavier than anticipated.
"The degree of accuracy involved in the construction of these cars is frightening," said Don Sankey, manager of the F1 In Schools centre at Yas Marina Circuit. To be light, fast and aerodynamic enough to reach average finalist speeds of 50 kph, students had to consider everything from wheel-bearings to tyre material. It took months to perfect the design on computer before the car could be cut from a small block of balsa wood, and this was then just a fraction of the project.
"The business of motor sport is this giant animal, only a small part of which is racing the car," Sankey added. Students also had to conquer a range of other fields, including business and marketing to reach the final. Then they had to find a way to cover the costs themselves. The project would encourage participants "to mirror a real Formula One team," and this, Sankey pointed out, "Does not mean getting your bills footed by mum and dad." Through the Yas Marina centre, he hopes to show students that anyone can pursue a career in the sport, whatever their particular strengths.
Among the most challenging aspects of the competition, which included the Best Presentation, Fastest Car and Best Pit Display categories, was also Marketing and Sponsorship. With flights, hotels and branded merchandise to consider, teams often wracked up costs in excess of Dh100,000. A week before the championship in Singapore, Team Impulse still had around Dh20,000 to find. A sponsorship deal that they had banked their hopes on failed to materialise and they had just days to raise the requisite funds.
After a few emergency emails, presentations and meetings, the finance-savvy students managed to get the backing of a few additional companies. In total, they contacted more than 70 companies, attended numerous networking events and even held cake sales - whatever it took to get them to the final. Their immense effort was rewarded when they received the Best Sportsmen prize after they lent a rival team a laptop for their presentation.
Before the project, few of the six Team Impulse members had any interest in Formula One. Now, Dominic Palubiski says he follows it "fanatically," another insists he would like to pursue a career there, while a third has gone from loathing public speaking to being a master of it. For Yas Marina, this is all part of the plan. Ultimately, Sankey said, he wants to "bridge the gap between the UAE classroom and Yas Marina Circuit".
"If this circuit and this business wants to be run by Emirati students in the future, it has to start in schools," he added.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
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A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
3rd ODI, January 14
4th ODI, January 16
Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
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