Hot off the presses from WAM - Khalifa University students won the first and second prizes in the university's fourth annual Mobile Application Contest. Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research (KUSTAR) student Ahmed Echtebi won top honours for his tourism application titled Al Murshed while his colleague Ahmed al Tunaiji won second for his university organiser program. Teams from the American University of Sharjah and the UAE University came in third and the fourth, respectively.
According to the competition's guidelines, applications submitted to the contest must be original, culturally-focused and may be released to the public, if they're good enough, of course. Given that a number of Etisalat executives either judged or attended the competition, it's safe to say we might see Mr Echtebi's tourism program on the UAE iTunes App Store sooner than later.
As The National has previously written on the potential that mobile applications have for local entrepreneurs and developers, it's encouraging to see UAE university students get involved in mobile application development today and hopefully lay the groundwork for many more of these programs to come.
Neighbourhood Watch
The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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TO ALL THE BOYS: ALWAYS AND FOREVER
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The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
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