One of the many things the pandemic taught us was that there is no real substitute for personal contact. So, my recent and first visit to the UAE with a team from the University of Manchester, where I work, was especially significant. The timing meant I was able to mark the 15th anniversary of our hugely successful Middle East Centre in Dubai, which supports working professionals, and whose role we hope to expand across research and business engagement.
The UAE may now be very familiar to people around the world. But seeing is believing when it comes to the country. It is a sensory experience with tangible energy, world-class cities and familiar landmarks – you quickly run out of superlatives to describe it.
However, the Emirates, like my university, is much more than bricks and mortar. After three intense days of meetings with senior figures in government, academia and business, including many of our alumni, the abiding impressions were of the warmth and openness of people, optimism for the future, respect for the culture and heritage and genuine interest in our institution.
The visit confirmed our belief that there are many opportunities for further collaboration with UAE organisations across our three strategic pillars: teaching/learning, research and social responsibility. These are all areas of strong mutual interest with the UAE. Football may be important, but Manchester’s links with the UAE go way beyond it!
Our collaborative model means we prefer to partner with UAE organisations and universities and build relationships, supported by our Middle East Centre. This includes social responsibility, which has been embraced strongly by the centre and the student and alumni community. I saw this for myself at Dubai Cares and when planting young mangroves with Emirates Marine Environmental Group. Embedding social responsibility in the academic and corporate sectors can make a real difference and we can all contribute.
One area of opportunity discussed at almost every meeting was the potential to develop research and innovation partnerships in the UAE, where current programmes are recognised as high quality but still relatively modest in scale. Manchester’s global reputation is built on our innovation and research impact, and so collaboration in areas of shared importance, such as environmental sustainability, clean water, AI and technology look extremely promising.
The university already enjoys strong links with the UAE. This is illustrated through our collaboration and partnership on graphene, the revolutionary advanced material first isolated in Manchester, the use of which we are now seeing accelerate. Today, we have the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (supported by Masdar) and the Masdar Institute on campus. We are also building a deeper relationship with Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi around the applications and commercial development of this potentially world-changing innovation.
Graphene also plays a crucial role in sparking and promoting interest in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) among younger generations of students – both women and men. In my experience, people’s passions and career paths are often inspired by a teacher, a role model, visits and stories.
The UAE has all these inspiring elements in place to help achieve its vision of a knowledge society. We saw for ourselves the work of Khalifa University as a beacon for STEM. In particular, I would like to see more women pursue these subjects generally. In the UK we are still under-represented, although our engineering department (the largest in the country) is led by a woman. Two important factors helping encourage women interested in STEM are successful role models and more career flexibility. I have always supported targets aimed at that goal and putting young women in senior roles, if they are ready, capable and well supported. The Emirati women I met were impressive in their confidence and ambition.
Science is important and I spent 10 years serving on the UK Prime Minister’s Council for Science & Technology, which advises on policy across a broad range of issues. Half the council members were successful women – all great role models. But we also discussed the arts and creativity as well, and we shouldn’t forget the real importance of the humanities, creative activities and industries and social sciences. At the University we are passionate supporters of creativity and host the Centre for Creative Writing, an art gallery, a museum and performance spaces for music and drama. This is what makes us human and so is important for all societies.
I see a very clear affinity between The University of Manchester and the UAE. Manchester was at the heart of the first industrial revolution and the UAE is a driver for Industry 4.0. The UAE has ambitions to become a knowledge society and universities can support this through research and by becoming innovation factories, while never forgetting universities’ unique role in discovery.
The job of the university’s Innovation Factory is to draw in ideas and support and encourage our staff and students to develop them. Our new innovation district (ID Manchester) represents a £1.5 billion investment commitment to attract innovative companies and strong entrepreneurs to sit alongside us as partners in innovation. We hope this will also benefit the UAE. I am already looking forward to my next visit.
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Genesis G80 2020 5.0-litre Royal Specs
Engine: 5-litre V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 420hp
Torque: 505Nm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.4L/100km
Price: Dh260,500
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Empty Words
By Mario Levrero
(Coffee House Press)
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
RESULTS
Light Flyweight (48kg): Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) beat Gulasal Sultonalieva (UZB) by points 4-1.
Flyweight (51kg): Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) beat Mary Kom (IND) 3-2.
Bantamweight (54kg): Dina Zholaman (KAZ) beat Sitora Shogdarova (UZB) 3-2.
Featherweight (57kg): Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) beat Vladislava Kukhta (KAZ) 5-0.
Lightweight (60kg): Rimma Volossenko (KAZ) beat Huswatun Hasanah (INA) KO round-1.
Light Welterweight (64kg): Milana Safronova (KAZ) beat Lalbuatsaihi (IND) 3-2.
Welterweight (69kg): Valentina Khalzova (KAZ) beat Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) 5-0
Middleweight (75kg): Pooja Rani (IND) beat Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0.
Light Heavyweight (81kg): Farida Sholtay (KAZ) beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba (UZB) 5-0.
Heavyweight (81 kg): Lazzat Kungeibayeva (KAZ) beat Anupama (IND) 3-2.
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Brief scores:
England: 290 & 346
Sri Lanka: 336 & 243
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)
Engine 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch
Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to report a beggar
Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)
Dubai – Call 800243
Sharjah – Call 065632222
Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372
Ajman – Call 067401616
Umm Al Quwain – Call 999
Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411
Profile Idealz
Company: Idealz
Founded: January 2018
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Size: (employees): 22
Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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The specs
Engine: 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 540hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 2,500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Kerb weight: 1580kg
Price: From Dh750k
On sale: via special order
The specs: 2018 Ford Mustang GT
Price, base / as tested: Dh204,750 / Dh241,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Gearbox: 10-speed automatic
Power: 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque: 569Nm @ 4,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.3L / 100km
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
The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
PROFILE BOX:
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence
Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($800,000)
Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
