In the span of a decade, Ireland has transformed itself from an unknown in the world of science into one of Europe's leading research centres.
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The country ranked seventh among European peers in a 2008 survey on innovation at the company level. It was 19th in the world in quality of its published research, just behind Italy and Australia, according to a Thomson Reuters InCites report. And Ireland now punches well above its weight in the quantity of research from its universities and science centres, producing more papers per capita than the US and France.
Those achievements did not come without setbacks and obstacles. Nor did they come cheap - they required billions of euros in government spending, as well as a lot of hard work.
But Ireland's investment in science and innovation has already yielded the sort of rapid but careful progress that many developing jurisdictions, including Abu Dhabi, may want to emulate. It has created jobs, helped to develop the knowledge economy and attracted foreign investment.
Michael McCarthy, a professor of aeronautical engineering at the University of Limerick, has seen many of his students go on to careers designing aeroplane parts and materials, thanks in part to government investments in the programme and in a new material sciences centre built in 1998.
"A lot of our graduates work in Airbus," he says in the university's cavernous aeronautics lab, where students were busy making carbon-fibre materials and testing their strength."
Dr Stephen Simpson, the director of life sciences at Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the centrepiece of the country's science funding strategy, says many of the basics were already in place when the government decided to raise Ireland's research profile a decade ago.
By the time SFI started in 2000, for example, Ireland had a top-notch university system. The idea was to tap the universities for talent while importing some big guns from abroad and hoping things would take off.
"They already had good research but in a landscape that was otherwise pretty - I don't want to call it barren - but it wasn't replete with lots and lots of science in the way that it is now," Dr Simpson says. "The idea was to get it kick-started."
SFI focused on technology and biology research as opposed to casting a wider net and coming up with fewer fish. It made clear to the academics it funded that it wanted to see practical results - products and processes that industry could use. And it brought considerable financial muscle. So far, overall spending on grants has reached €1.4 billion (Dh7.4bn).
Professor Michael Berndt, who heads one of SFI's first big projects, the Biomedical Diagnostics Institute (BDI) in Dublin, says the key to success is balancing academics' desire to do blue-sky research with the imperative of usable results.
"There's a very clear focus more and more on the translational aspects of the impact of research, which may not be in terms of economics but it could be a benefit to society."
* Asa Fitch
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
Results
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Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Squid Game season two
Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
Rating: 4.5/5
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
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The five pillars of Islam
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
The specs
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Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
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