Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday underlined the importance of academic excellence to the nation's growth during a meeting with a gifted group of high school pupils from around the UAE.
Sheikh Mohammed spoke of his “immense pride” in the achievements of the young learners and urged them to continue on their path to the top at a gathering held at Union House in Dubai.
He said knowledge and learning remained fundamental pillars for the country's progress and praised the contributions of teachers in moulding the next generation's brightest and best.
Sheikh Mohammed's praise came after he last month named the UAE's top-performing high school pupils in both public and private education sector following summer exams, in a congratulatory social media post.
Following the meeting on Sunday, Sheikh Mohammed reinforced the crucial role of education in providing a launch pad for sustained success.
“We celebrate the achievements of the nation’s top students and extend our appreciation to their families and teachers, whose support was essential to this success,” Sheikh Mohammed said, in remarks shared by Dubai Media Office.
“These accomplishments are a source of immense pride, and we look forward to seeing these students make even greater strides across various fields of knowledge.”
“We share this joy today because we believe that success in education is the beginning of all success, and academic excellence is the cornerstone upon which all future achievements are built.
“The top-performing students are shining examples we are proud of. This achievement is not the final stop, but the beginning of a long journey of distinction. We expect this path of excellence to continue, serving as an inspiration to others.”
The pupils expressed their gratitude at meeting Sheikh Mohammed, describing his words of support as a lasting source of motivation.
Profile of RentSher
Started: October 2015 in India, November 2016 in UAE
Founders: Harsh Dhand; Vaibhav and Purvashi Doshi
Based: Bangalore, India and Dubai, UAE
Sector: Online rental marketplace
Size: 40 employees
Investment: $2 million
CONCRETE COWBOY
Directed by: Ricky Staub
Starring: Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome
3.5/5 stars
The Beach Bum
Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Isla Fisher, Snoop Dogg
Two stars
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
Results:
First Test: New Zealand 30 British & Irish Lions 15
Second Test: New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
Third Test: New Zealand 15 British & Irish Lions 15
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Profile of Foodics
Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani
Based: Riyadh
Sector: Software
Employees: 150
Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing
Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.
