All aspiring students of subjects such as business, accounting, education and environmental management, can enroll at Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University for its undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses which are being taught completely online.
From the current semester all of the Dubai institution's academic programmes will offer a mix of live classes and independent learning - all online. This allows for a more personalised experience for students while also given them constant access to course materials, HBMSU said.
A virtual classroom for live teaching features audio and video chat, file and screen sharing, individual and group discussions, webinars, instant messaging, video conferencing and interactive stories. Live teaching will account for half of the programme.
For the other half, interactive independent learning will be through email, file sharing, discussion forums, blogs, e-wallets, podcasts, recorded videos, presentations, simulations, and educational games.
Regular communication between students and professors is encouraged. Final exams will still be conducted physically however.
Previously there had been a mix of online and face-to-face teaching at HBMSU.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, is President of HBSMU. The university has been a hub for smart learning for 18 years and last month announced the "first-of-its-kind blended delivery model" using the latest technological innovations. It said the move "falls in line with the UAE's efforts to ensure the continuity of the educational process in a rapidly changing world".
The impact of Covid-19 related restrictions has meant that many universities have shifted more of their teaching online but the trend for distance learning is expected to continue even after the pandemic has subsided. According to Times Higher Education, which covers the global university sector, many schools are adopting a blended or hybrid approach to teaching this term.
We continue to play our pivotal role as a supportive arm in the move to provide new, equitable and comprehensive education, offering lifelong learning opportunities for all and bearing in mind the importance of bringing change to the established rules governing traditional education
Dr Mansoor Al Awar, HBMSU Chancellor, said that ensuring the continuity of education and business amid the global crisis had been a key achievement of the UAE under the "forward-looking vision" of the country's leadership, which has invested in the development of advanced technical infrastructure across various sectors, including education. Dr Al Awar said that HBMSU has also been a part of the support to maintain continuity of education during this period.
The launch of its new smart learning model follows on from HBMSU's efforts over the past two decades, which have helped reshaped the future of higher education based on "three key pillars of innovation, disruption and transformation", Dr Al Awar said.
"From our position as the first accredited smart university in the UAE, we continue to play our pivotal role as a supportive arm in the move to provide new, equitable and comprehensive education, offering lifelong learning opportunities for all and bearing in mind the importance of bringing change to the established rules governing traditional education."
"We also continue to provide a unique educational experience via the use of modern technology; restructure the role of learners and faculty members; and manage curriculum and educational environments to achieve our ambition of building generations of innovators, knowledge ambassadors, decision-makers, and builders of the future,” said Dr Al Awar.
“We look forward with confidence to this new and unique model, which will lay the foundation for sustainable learning during normal and urgent conditions according to a fully intelligent framework that meets the needs of learners at any time and place," he said. "Our achievements will not stop at this point, but rather continue to move forward in the advancement of education by taking advantage of technology and information revolution. Therefore, we are fully prepared and ready for the next fifty years with a, a generation that is scientifically, cognitively and technologically capable, working under a spirit that loves to reach the summits and does not recognize the word impossible.”
HBMSU's online bachelors, masters and doctoral programmes are accredited by the Ministry of Education. These programmes include a Bachelor of Business in Accounting, a Bachelor of Science in Health Administration, a Master of Management in Entrepreneurial Leadership and a Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
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7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
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Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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.”
