The UAE Space Agency, three years on from its inception, is entering a critical phase where it needs to recruit more Emiratis into the sector from a young age.
With two academic institutes already on-board in offering space-related curricula - the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and the American University of Ras Al Khaimah - another eight are planned across the country.
“Space is key for our future and it can be utilised to inspire and improve our [performance] and to change the region’s [image] in the eyes of the world,” said Dr Mohammed Al Ahbabi, the agency’s director general.
“That’s through projects in science and technology, which help to diversify our economy. It has become a tool to help and support the future economy away from oil.”
The agency is hoping to attract more young Emiratis to Stem programmes. In Dubai, 70 per cent of students choose courses related to commerce instead of Stem, even though Stem could lead them to a variety of careers. There are 30 or so universities in the emirate offering a choice of more than 400 academic programmes, so competition to attract talent is fierce.
“If we want to match the Government’s objectives, we have to work on the future workforce,” Dr Al Ahbabi said. “A space programme without talented, skilled people is not complete. You need to bring them to the first step then they will be on-board.”
The agency’s research centre set up at UAE University in Al Ain at the end of last year, and the university now plans to establish the first space degree - but there is a need for more.
“There’s a master’s degree in space systems and technology at Masdar and the first batch graduated last year,” he said. “It’s unique because they’re doing some educational curriculum and practical work where they design and implement a cubesat, which is a small satellite that will be launched in the future.”
Building small satellites is made available for undergraduates close to finishing their degree and master’s students.
“It’s the best tool to educate people because you involve them in the designing and manufacturing,” Dr Al Ahbabi added. “The concept of a satellite is the same - whether 1kg or 1 tonne – you can use it for something good and we will open competitions among students to try to find a useful usage of that satellite.”
Agency chairman and Minister of State for Higher Education Dr Ahmad Al Falasi said the agency is at the start of a new chapter of innovative initiatives. “This requires enhancing current and future industry capabilities,” he said. “That includes fostering space research and development centres and further developing advanced capability-building programmes”.
New programmes will focus on astrophysics, a major which has yet to be tapped into.
“The idea is we want to be able to fund projects in different universities and support students in learning about space and how they can use space education in making new discoveries,” said Sheikha Al Maskari, the agency’s chief innovation officer.
“Most academic institutes have engineering majors but not anything related to space, so we’re working on developing programmes for master’s degrees and we’ve already launched a masters in aviation and space law at Sharjah University. The trend right now is astrophysics and we need to look into that so we’re trying to get people into Stem – it’s about school foundation in the primary years to get them excited about sciences.”
The agency will focus more on academia to prepare the next generation of scientists, engineers and researchers.
“The next few years will involve helping pave the way towards Mars 2117, by when we plan to have an Emirati settlement on Mars,” said Ms Al Maskari. “It’s about training the right people and giving them the important information that will help them decide if they want to be in space, so we’re trying to encourage and motivate them to join it.”
The agency has so far signed 10 agreements with academic institutions. It is also hoping to attract more students into its local space summer camps while continuing its international camps in the United States, United Kingdom and Japan, with the potential to add Singapore.
“Hundreds of years ago, this region used to be a pioneer and then we went downwards,” Ms Al Maskari said. “So what we want to do is relive that legacy, be pioneers in sciences and able to give back to the world and to benefit humankind through our projects. We don’t want to be a passive player in the world, we want to be active and a key player.”
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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.”
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