A raft of UAE schools have brought in lessons in blockchain, cryptocurrencies and other emerging tech fields to prepare them for the job market of the future.
High on the the agenda will be making children fully aware of the possibilities ― and potential pitfalls ― of the metaverse.
The metaverse is envisaged as a new online world where someone with a 3D avatar, a representation of yourself, uses a virtual reality headset to go to concerts, work, socialise and access a range of services.
We ensure our students have a digital mindset, that means understanding financial literacy, the world of cryptocurrency, NFTs, digital assets and blockchain - and these will increase in complexity in secondary years
Tracy Moxley,
Citizens School
Gillian Hammond, principal at Repton Al Barsha, said promoting online safety was key.
“When they are exploring the metaverse, there are a lot of participants and we need to ensure our pupils are digital citizens and they know how to be safe online and understand the permanency of what they post online," Ms Hammond said.
"We've educated our pupils that things are not necessarily what they appear online, and that they must never share their names, pictures or location."
Ms Hammond said the school worked closely with parents to discuss what restrictions should be in place when children are online at home, using devices such as mobile phones, laptops and iPads.
While safety is key, the school is keen to embrace rapidly advancing technologies.
It is setting aside about an hour each week in the school timetable to explore game design, blockchain, learning about non-fungible tokens, widely known as NFTs, and the wider metaverse.
“As a family of schools, we have identified blockchain as the technology of the future and we really want to lead this space by raising awareness among our teachers, our parents and our pupils," Ms Hammond said.
“We want our pupils to understand and learn about blockchain and NFTs. We have had pupils in years four to six involved in game design.
“We deliver computer science lessons to all of our pupils. In fact, even from as early as Year 1, we start teaching children about computer science and coding.”
Last year, the school launched a digital passport for all pupils with the help of a blockchain provider.
Pupils all the way from FS1 to Year 13 will receive a digital record of their journey at school. Pupils could share their exam transcripts safely and these could be verified easily because documents would be dated.
The school has created a series of videos to educate the community about the benefits of blockchain and are running an extracurricular activity on blockchain and NFTs this year for all pupils who are interested and able to attend.
Schools look to the future
The UK curriculum Citizens School, in Dubai, claims to be the first in the Middle East to allow parents to pay school fees with cryptocurrencies. The school accepts payments in Bitcoin and Ether.
“We will ensure that our students have a digital mindset, that means understanding financial literacy, the world of cryptocurrency, NFTs, digital assets and blockchain," said principal Tracy Moxley.
“We do this through project-based learning and digital literacy classes ― complex concepts such as these will be explored in Year 5 and Year 6 and increase in complexity in secondary years.”
Mark Ryan, visual arts teacher in the primary years programme at Raha International School in Abu Dhabi, said he had been teaching his pupils how to take an artwork and make an NFT since last year.
For an exhibition last year, pupils were allowed to pick any topic that they would like to show and he said some of them were passionate about NFTs.
The digital tokens represent objects such as art, music and video games and are bought and sold online — often at a huge price — typically using cryptocurrency.
Pupils who made NFTs were encouraged not to focus on the currency and on buying and selling these, but simply studying how the digital space helped to track their work as young artists.
"These spaces are developing almost even faster than the curriculum itself," Mr Ryan said.
"We have a digital citizenship programme and the children learn about how to navigate the internet in general, and now with these emerging spaces, they do a lot of their social interactions online and we have tried to then have these discussions on safety."
Mr Ryan said this year he was working with pupils on robotics and on how to use digital spaces such as Sandbox, an Ethereum-based metaverse and gaming ecosystem, and Decentraland, a 3D virtual world browser-based platform.
Policing the metaverse - in pictures
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday
AC Milan v Sampdoria (2.30pm kick-off UAE)
Atalanta v Udinese (5pm)
Benevento v Parma (5pm)
Cagliari v Hellas Verona (5pm)
Genoa v Fiorentina (5pm)
Lazio v Spezia (5pm)
Napoli v Crotone (5pm)
Sassuolo v Roma (5pm)
Torino v Juventus (8pm)
Bologna v Inter Milan (10.45pm)
RESULT
Los Angeles Galaxy 2 Manchester United 5
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United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')
Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
Third Test
Result: India won by 203 runs
Series: England lead five-match series 2-1
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.”
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Tamkeen's offering
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- Option 2: 50% across three years
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The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
