ABU DHABI // The UAE is the fourth most popular destination for Arab nationals wanting to attend university abroad.
Nearly half of those questioned in a new survey said they would like to study abroad, and only the US, Canada and the UK place ahead of the UAE as a preferred destination for further education.
The Al Aan poll questioned 18-24-year-olds in 18 Arab countries on their attitudes to studying abroad.
"The UAE is known to be a politically stable, religiously tolerant, economically booming, innovative and exciting place with some strong universities and lots of potential job and internship possibilities," said Linda Angell, the director of international exchange at the American University of Sharjah.
"Many students study abroad in the UAE with the hope that they will establish professional network relationships that will aid them in finding a job or an internship within the region."
The survey found out of the 1,502 male and females questioned, 698 (46.5 per cent) would prefer to study outside their home country.
Noor AlGharibeh, 19, from Jordan, said she chose to study at the New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) because of the quality and variety of education and the opportunity to study abroad.
"I felt like I could learn a lot from the people here, far more than anywhere else," the engineering student said.
"Also, I also came here because the engineering programme is all inclusive. It allows you to combine whatever aspects you want which makes your degree far more innovative. I'm trying to combine civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and design.
"I don't know where else I would get the opportunity to do that."
Almost three in five said safety and security was the top consideration in choosing a country.
Other important factors included standards of living, cost of living, availability of transport facilities and a stable government.
Ms Angell said that nearly 13 per cent of the American University of Sharjah's international students for the 2013-2014 academic year were Arab nationals.
The UAE is such a hugely multicultural and diverse place, home to so many families from all over the Arab-Islamic world," she said.
"Arab students often have family living in the UAE, so from that standpoint it makes sense to study abroad here. For one thing, it can be more affordable as they do not have to pay for dorm rooms, etc. Also, they can get to know their extended families better.
"Families of female Arab students may feel more comfortable having their daughters studying abroad in a place where they have family members."
"The UAE is filled with amazing opportunities," said NYUAD student Nahla Ibrahim, 20, from Alexandria, Egypt.
"The quality of education promised at the university and the prospect of being in a country where history is still being written was what drew me here to the UAE.
"I benefited so much from studying in the US for a year during high school on an exchange students programme, so I wanted to to go back but being that far away from home for four years wasn't something I wanted to do, so when I got accepted to NYUAD it was an easy decision to accept."
More than half those questioned said the UAE offered excellent or good quality of education (56 per cent), while half thought the UAE had an excellent or good availability of international universities and reputed universities.
The most popular courses were business management and administration (30.3 per cent), IT (24.2 per cent) and engineering (20.3 per cent).
Quality of education, availability of financial support, innovative teaching methods and experienced faculty members top the list of what students are looking for when picking their first choice of university.
"Coming to the UAE to study would be the first step to building a life in the country for students. The second step would be to nail down a job and jump start a career, the path from there is endless," said Dana Shadid, a project manager at Al Aan TV.
jbell@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Sachi Leith
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
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
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
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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
Company profile
Company: Rent Your Wardrobe
Date started: May 2021
Founder: Mamta Arora
Based: Dubai
Sector: Clothes rental subscription
Stage: Bootstrapped, self-funded
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)
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”