ABU DHABI // With whoops, cheers and standing ovations, it could have been a graduation ceremony anywhere in the world.
But these were the trailblazers - the first class to graduate from the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology. It was, said Dr Sultan al Jaber, Masdar's chief executive, "a very emotional moment".
Having begun their studies in 2009, 72 students from five master's programmes graduated in a packed auditorium yesterday at the Emirates Palace hotel in the capital.
Building a university from scratch to such high standards had been far from easy, said Dr al Jaber, "but you can see the energy and the pride among the leadership". "I can't stress how pleased we are with this class," he said.
The students shared his enthusiasm. Irene Rubalcaba Montserrat, a mechanical engineering graduate, was there with her mother, Marisa. "Of course, I'm very proud of my daughter," said Mrs Montserrat. "I came from Mexico just for the graduation and to be with her.
"It's a very new, beautiful experience for us. We came from a totally different country very far from here." She said the ceremony had been "very impressive - and very different".
Mehmet Ergun, from Turkey, obtained a masters in computing and information science. "Academically and in terms of the exposure that Masdar Institute gives you, it's incredible and unmatched," he said.
"You can have conversations with experts at Masdar and learn about the problems the world is facing in terms of energy. I advise everyone, not just Turkish people, to come and study here."
Mr Ergun's teachers were equally encouraging. "It's not about today," said Jacob Crandall, assistant professor of computing and information science at the institute.
"It feels good but it's about the last two years of work that they put in. It's been tough for them. They're establishing a whole culture of a new university."
While some, such as Vimitha Manohar from India, who graduated with a master's in computing and information science, will stay on for a doctorate, others intend to find work in Abu Dhabi or return to their countries.
"I'd like to stay here - but who knows?" said Mr Ergun.
Ms Montserrat also intends to remain in the capital. "I've some ideas as to work related to renewables. I had the option for the PhD but I prefer to work now," she said.
Arnar Snaer Valmundsson, from Iceland, graduated with a masters in mechanical engineering. He had been impressed by the oversight from MIT and "how they backed up the courses - the education level was good". He too hopes to stay in Abu Dhabi.
The challenge now is to help the graduates to take that next step. "Of course we're going to connect the graduates with the workplace in Abu Dhabi or globally," said Dr al Jaber. "Our objective was to attract the best talent, retain some and have others act as our ambassadors of a global initiative.
"Through these graduates we want to get this message across and raise the Abu Dhabi flag very high."
Not all the students' families were present to wish them well - so that task fell to their friends and fellow graduates and friends. One of the loudest cheers of the day went to Karim GadElrab, from Egypt, as he graduated in materials science and engineering.
"I didn't have my family here as they weren't able to come," he said. "That's why I asked people to cheer for me. We somehow became each other's families."
He is staying on for a doctorate. "The UAE's ambitious 2030 plan means that there's potential after I finish my PhD to work here."
hhamid@thenational.ae
Honeymoonish
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE gold medallists:
Omar Al Suweidi (46kg), Khaled Al Shehhi (50kg), Khalifa Humaid Al Kaabi (60kg), Omar Al Fadhli (62kg), Mohammed Ali Al Suweidi (66kg), Omar Ahmed Al Hosani (73), all in the U18’s, and Khalid Eskandar Al Blooshi (56kg) in the U21s.
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
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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
MATCH INFO
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Ulloa (20')
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.”
