Students from Ajman University won first prize at the national stage for this year’s James Dyson Award, by creating an app to protect children from abuse.
The team of five were lauded for designing the Shield device, which is downloaded on to a smartwatch, and sends an alarm when a child is in danger of being physically or emotionally abused.
It uses Bluetooth and GPS technology to send the alert and location of the child to the mobile phone of a parent, as well as simultaneously sending a picture of the attacker.
The idea of protecting the ones I love motivated me to push past taboos and design a solution that safeguards children
Shamma Alaryani
“We all firmly believe in using our education to make a real difference in the lives of others,” said Shamma Alaryani, 23, one of the inventors.
“When we were looking for impactful ideas, we couldn’t help but notice the amount of news related to child abuse and kept thinking, 'what if this was a relative?'
“The idea of protecting the ones I love motivated me to push past taboos and design a solution that safeguards children and makes them feel comfortable to talk about it [abuse].”
His teammate Marwa Alshouli, 21, said working on the project has helped her to fine tune her critical thinking skills.
“Engineering often involves looking into a problem and finding a practical solution. We had several challenges during the development of Shield, but we learnt a lot about problem solving,” she said.
“It has also been a trying process to realise how many prototypes you need to create before you’re able to get a working solution.”
Around the world, there are an estimated 120 million girls under the age of 20 who have suffered some form of forced sexual contact, according to Unicef.
The World Health Organisation estimates there are up to one billion children worldwide, from the ages of 2 to 17, who have suffered some form of physical, emotional or sexual violence in the past 12 months.
The prize for winning the nationwide competition is a Dh10,000 grant for the students to further develop their invention.
“We began working on the system in September 2020 and spent an average of five hours a day researching and prototyping, as we progressively improved the design and weight with each version,” said student Somaya Samra, 21.
“Soon we hope to implement AI and deep learning into the software, which will increase accuracy and responsiveness.”
The group from Ajman will now go on to compete in the international stage of the James Dyson Award on October 13.
They will represent the UAE with runners-up from the American University of Sharjah, who created drone technology to help prevent damage to plants, and crop waste.
The country will also be represented by a team from the University of Sharjah, who invented technology to help desalinate water using sunlight and ultrasonic waves.
“The winning team demonstrated impressive creativity and dedication in the way they approached and designed a solution to a prevalent problem,” said Dr Suaad Al Shamsi, one of the judges for the competition in the UAE.
“The invention uses existing technology to detect and deter abuse while also providing an opportunity for a quick response from caregivers when required.
“It delivers an effective tool for parents across the globe looking to better protect their children and ensure their safety, well-being and happiness.”
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.”
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Biography
Favourite Meal: Chicken Caesar salad
Hobbies: Travelling, going to the gym
Inspiration: Father, who was a captain in the UAE army
Favourite read: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter
Favourite film: The Founder, about the establishment of McDonald's
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
