Abu Dhabi // The futuristic new Zayed University was unveiled yesterday, and it will be a groundbreaking campus when completed in 2011.
On display for the first time, the model shows a striking concrete and steel roof which the architect said was inspired by traditional Arab dress. The roof is to be clad in "self-cleaning" aluminium that does not accumulate dirt.
Work has already begun in Khalifa City on the 213,000 square metre campus, which will have space for 6,000 students, more than twice the number at the present site in central Abu Dhabi.
The central building with the sweeping roof was conceived three months ago when officials decided the original plans, developed last year, should be amended to ensure the new facility looked iconic.
Already, 900 people are working at the construction site, where work began in March, and this will rise to 4,000 as building work progresses.
"The roof is unique - they wanted it to be a masterpiece," said Abdullah Muwahid, general manager of the Abu Dhabi division of Al Habtoor Engineering, one of the companies building the campus.
The central building was designed by Hadi Teherani, an Iranian-born German architect.
"There will be more women than men [using the campus] and we wanted to create the model of something like a chador flowing overhead," Mr Teherani said.
"The roof creates the shade that you need in this temperature. Maybe we could make an intelligent roof that you could produce energy from."
Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, described it is "a unique building".
"It's futuristic and it's original," he said. "It will be a landmark building for Abu Dhabi for what it embodies."
Zayed University is embarking on an expansion programme that will see enrolment in Abu Dhabi grow from about 2,300 at present to more than 4,000 in 2014.
The university already has considerable scope to expand student numbers in Dubai, where it moved into a new campus in Dubai Academic City two years ago. Numbers there are currently just under 5,000, but are due to grow to more than 9,000 by 2014.
Dr Peggy Blackwell, dean of the university's College of Education, said there was a "desperate need" for the new campus, which she described as "awesome".
"I think it will set the standard for universities," she said. "The [current] campus in Abu Dhabi is very crowded. The classrooms are small in size and the faculty have no privacy because they're in cubicles.
"This will be much better. There will be meeting rooms for relaxing and talking about issues. It's very important to build a sense of community among the faculty and this building has been designed to do that."
Unlike UAE University, which is looking to take on large numbers of doctoral students, Zayed University plans to concentrate on expanding undergraduate numbers, although it is also looking to increase its research activity. The university, which last year received accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, a US accrediting body, offers degrees in subjects such as the arts, sciences, IT, media, business and education.
It was founded in 1998 as a female-only institution, although there are now male students at the Abu Dhabi campus and from the next academic year at the Dubai campus too.
Yesterday Sheikh Nahyan took part in a symbolic ground-breaking at the construction site along with the architect and senior officials from Al Habtoor Engineering and Mubadala, the project's developer.
Mubadala will operate the facility for 25 years after construction is completed. Other university projects Mubadala is involved in include the new UAE University campus in Al Ain, the Paris-Sorbonne University campus being built on Reem Island and the forthcoming New York University facility on Saadiyat Island.
dbardsley@thenational.ae
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
Pathaan
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About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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
Bawaal%20
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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
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeap%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ziad%20Toqan%20and%20Jamil%20Khammu%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.
MATCH INFO
Jersey 147 (20 overs)
UAE 112 (19.2 overs)
Jersey win by 35 runs
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
End of free parking
- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18
- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued
- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket
- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200.
- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200
- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
The biog
Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah
Date of birth: 15 November, 1951
Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”
Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry
if you go
The flights Fly Dubai, Air Arabia, Emirates, Etihad, and Royal Jordanian all offer direct, three-and-a-half-hour flights from the UAE to the Jordanian capital Amman. Alternatively, from June Fly Dubai will offer a new direct service from Dubai to Aqaba in the south of the country. See the airlines’ respective sites for varying prices or search on reliable price-comparison site Skyscanner.
The trip
Jamie Lafferty was a guest of the Jordan Tourist Board. For more information on adventure tourism in Jordan see Visit Jordan. A number of new and established tour companies offer the chance to go caving, rock-climbing, canyoning, and mountaineering in Jordan. Prices vary depending on how many activities you want to do and how many days you plan to stay in the country. Among the leaders are Terhaal, who offer a two-day canyoning trip from Dh845 per person. If you really want to push your limits, contact the Stronger Team. For a more trek-focused trip, KE Adventure offers an eight-day trip from Dh5,300 per person.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
