University graduates have spoken out about how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted their years of study. (Pawan Singh / The National)
University graduates have spoken out about how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted their years of study. (Pawan Singh / The National)
University graduates have spoken out about how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted their years of study. (Pawan Singh / The National)
University graduates have spoken out about how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted their years of study. (Pawan Singh / The National)

How Covid changed the university experience for UAE students


Anam Rizvi
  • English
  • Arabic

Students heading to university expect to spend the first year partying and making lifelong friends, while exploring a whole new world away from home.

But those who started their university degrees in 2020 had a very different experience as they had to contend with the Covid-19 pandemic.

While some students felt they had not fully experienced university life, others said they had become more resilient and independent, thanks to Covid.

Nandini Shivakumar was awarded the Dean's Award at Lancaster University. Photo: Nandini Shivakumar
Nandini Shivakumar was awarded the Dean's Award at Lancaster University. Photo: Nandini Shivakumar

Nandini Shivakumar, an Indian student from Dubai, travelled to the UK to study economics in the autumn of 2020 but had to return home in December due to the pandemic.

The 22-year-old student graduated this month and will be starting her master’s in economics at Imperial College London in August.

“In the first month or two we had only one in-person seminar," Ms Shivakumar told The National.

“It was a very big learning curve because in high school we had all in-person classes and the first year of university was online.

"We were trying to navigate through online lectures and seminars and learn how to contact professors or how to build relationships with professors.

“Then in second year, when everything was in-person, we were dealing with a different set of professors and different set of content..it was a lot to navigate through."

In December 2020, Ms Shivakumar headed back to Dubai where she studied online for four months. She then returned to the UK in April 2021, having struggled to deal with being so far away from her friends and tutors.

"I went back to university, and I can say that was probably the best decision I ever made because I could see a positive turn in my mental health just by being at the university campus and being surrounded by friends," said Ms Shivakumar.

Nandini Shivakumar, an Indian student from Dubai, said the experience taught her valuable life lessons. Photo: Nandini Shivakumar
Nandini Shivakumar, an Indian student from Dubai, said the experience taught her valuable life lessons. Photo: Nandini Shivakumar

"From travelling alone to a country, to a university where I did not know anyone and setting up a room and essentially a life made me a lot more resilient and made me a lot tougher. It has positively affected my ability to bounce back," she said.

“Everyone was having similar doubts and everyone was helping each other. It was comforting in a way that you knew you weren't alone when you were feeling overwhelmed."

Losing out on university life

Atif Ajir, a 22-year-old Indian student at the SP Jain School of Global Management in Dubai, started his studies in 2018 and had to move to online learning for a year during the pandemic.

"Although our education never stopped, we lost out on university life because of Covid-19," said Mr Ajir.

"Going to university every day was not just about attending lectures but also about catching up with friends, having group discussions about projects, working in the library, having a meal in the canteen or attending guest lectures and events in the auditoriums.

"We lost all the thrill of university life due to the pandemic. Our university life became confined to attending lectures on computers. We missed a lot of fun that we all wanted.

"The pandemic affected my mental health as everything became very uncertain. Our college life came to standstill and I wasn't sure if I was ever going to meet friends again, since they had all gone back to their home countries."

Mr Ajir said thoughts about life post-pandemic and the uncertainty of jobs made his mental health worse.

"Since the university was closed, I wasn't able to meet my friends or make new ones," he said.

"One of my biggest learnings during this period was time management."

Mr Ajir said he made sure he woke up early every day and got ready to attend online lectures, noting that the experience taught him the ethics of remote work and how to communicate with people from around the world.

Independence

Rohan Sanil, a 21-year-old Indian student in Dubai, studied animation at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia in the US.

He enrolled in university in 2020 but was only able to travel to the US in March 2021. Having graduated in June, he described the admissions process as "a mad rush".

"I definitely learnt a lot about independence and learning how to live on live on my own," Mr Sanil said.

"I'd say probably independence was the best thing I got. I learnt a lot of skills for myself, that I wouldn't have known if I had not gone to college during that time."

Because he could not go to university in the first term, he missed out on social activities and the chance to join clubs.

Although he eventually made friends, he said he did not get to "experience college” in the first year.

"I would say my biggest fear at the time was getting infected [with Covid-19]," he said.

"I was just trying to focus on my social life and trying to get a college experience.

“When I first came to the US, and we had some classes in-person and some classes (online). I had a lot of struggle dealing with that, because I had to balance both."

Dust and sand storms compared

Sand storm

  • Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
  • Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
  • Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
  • Travel distance: Limited 
  • Source: Open desert areas with strong winds

Dust storm

  • Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
  • Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
  • Duration: Can linger for days
  • Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
  • Source: Can be carried from distant regions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
EPL's youngest
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street

The seven points are:

Shakhbout bin Sultan Street

Dhafeer Street

Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)

Salama bint Butti Street

Al Dhafra Street

Rabdan Street

Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."

Day 1 results:

Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)

Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)

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

Tiger%20Stripes%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amanda%20Nell%20Eu%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Zafreen%20Zairizal%2C%20Deena%20Ezral%20and%20Piqa%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204.5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2019 Haval H6

Price, base: Dh69,900

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo

The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
​​​​​​​Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km

SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4-litre%20flat-six%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E525hp%20(GT3)%2C%20500hp%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E465Nm%20(GT3)%2C%20450Nm%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven-speed%20automatic%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh944%2C000%20(GT3)%2C%20Dh581%2C700%20(GT4)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENow%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
War 2

Director: Ayan Mukerji

Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana

Rating: 2/5

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now 

THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Rating: 5/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

MATCH INFO

BRIGHTON 0

MANCHESTER UNITED 3

McTominay 44'

Mata 73'

Pogba 80'

Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.6-litre turbo

Transmission: six-speed automatic

Power: 165hp

Torque: 240Nm

Price: From Dh89,000 (Enjoy), Dh99,900 (Innovation)

On sale: Now

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
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  • Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
  • Do not drive outside designated lanes
Fixtures

50-over match

UAE v Lancashire, starts at 10am

Champion County match

MCC v Surrey, four-day match, starting on Sunday, March 24, play starts at 10am

Both matches are at ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City. Admission is free.

Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

The specs

Common to all models unless otherwise stated

Engine: 4-cylinder 2-litre T-GDi

0-100kph: 5.3 seconds (Elantra); 5.5 seconds (Kona); 6.1 seconds (Veloster)

Power: 276hp

Torque: 392Nm

Transmission: 6-Speed Manual/ 8-Speed Dual Clutch FWD

Price: TBC

What sanctions would be reimposed?

Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:

  • An arms embargo
  • A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
  • A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
  • A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
  • Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Bert van Marwijk factfile

Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder

Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia

Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

Guardians%20of%20the%20Galaxy%20Vol%203
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Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

FINAL SCORES

Fujairah 130 for 8 in 20 overs

(Sandy Sandeep 29, Hamdan Tahir 26 no, Umair Ali 2-15)

Sharjah 131 for 8 in 19.3 overs

(Kashif Daud 51, Umair Ali 20, Rohan Mustafa 2-17, Sabir Rao 2-26)

Updated: April 23, 2025, 8:56 AM`