Emirati postgraduate student Talib Alhinai is, quite literally, flying high. He will shortly present his drone research to members of British parliament, has just been named one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 in Europe for this year and he still has another six years to retain his place on the prestigious list.
Mr Alhinai, 24, has been in the UK since 2010 when he joined University of Manchester to study mechatronic engineering. Then, just a week after finishing his first-class bachelor’s degree, he began a doctorate at London’s Imperial College.
Today he spends his time at Imperial’s aerial robotics laboratory, where he works on using flying robots for aerial construction.
He is due to finish his doctoral degree in June, but first he will present his research to around 100 parliamentarians at Stem for Britain, which supports early-career research scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians – what it calls the “engine room of UK plc”.
“When choosing a subject, I had set my mind on a field I was passionate about but also one that was cutting edge and relevant to the future needs of the UAE in becoming a knowledge-based economy,” says Mr Alhinai, who was born in Abu Dhabi, and adds that he started his doctorate just as consumer drones were gaining traction.
“Drones have immense potential to be used for good, to help with agriculture and farming, search and rescue and construction. My interest in them was piqued when I learnt how drone swarms can rapidly build shelters for survivors of natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes.”
The result has been the world’s first flying 3D-printing drone, which can take droplets of a lightweight builders’ foam, in liquid form, out to pipeline leaks. Expanding to 25 times its original size, the foam can then quickly plug the leak without any need for hands-on human intervention.
The aerial robot won him Dh1 million and the national prize at last year’s UAE Drones for Good awards – the “World Cup” for drones.
The award subsequently brought him to the attention of Forbes magazine, which has named him one of the 30 most promising people under 30 in its European science and healthcare category for 2017.
Mr Alhinai already holds two patents – one for the mechanism to create an aerial 3D-printing drone, and another for the design of a walking and flying drone, which could work across different zones in construction or in disaster relief.
His inspiration originally came from the 2011 Japanese Fukushima nuclear disaster, where wheeled robots were sent into the three nuclear reactor meltdowns and quickly failed amid all the debris and heat. Even four years on, a robot sent in to capture images stopped working after a few hours.
As a result of Mr Alhinai’s work – made in collaboration with his aerial robotics lecturer, Dr Mirko Kovac – awards and sponsorship money has been flooding in. Last year, they received £3.4 million (Dh15.3m) in funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and other industrial partners.
The “science fiction”, he says, is to build teams of robots which can construct rooms and even buildings – “not something that is going to happen tomorrow or in the next year or two”.
It has very much been a case of right place and time for Mr Alhinai, who says the huge surge in the use of flying robots in the last few years has mostly been “recreational” rather than for “the benefit of humanity”.
The UAE has become an incubator for such “disruptive technology”, he says, being one of the first countries to legislate for the commercial use of drones, and it will “pay off immensely in the long term”.
The young scientist has been heavily involved in some of the government’s discussions on science, technology and entrepreneurship.
He is part of the Dubai team involved in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme (Reap), a two-year project focused on converting the 90 per cent of Emiratis who do not work as entrepreneurs into 90 per cent who do.
He has also worked with the Dubai Future Foundation on creating a network of innovation centres for robotic technology, and is an ambassador for the Shorik initiative, which encourages overseas study for Emirati students.
More new Emirati graduates are “passionate” about the so-called Stem subjects, he has observed, “probably as a by-product in the government’s interest in science – the space programme, the hyperloop”. It all points to “a very bright future” for Stem in the Emirates.
Having been so deeply involved in policies on both drones and entrepreneurship, Mr Alhinai is keen to carry on with both streams of work when he returns to the UAE for good later this year. And he has his national service to do.
But first, the homecoming. After four years in which he has only been able to make two short breaks home a year, he is looking forward to a proper return.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
25%20Days%20to%20Aden
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Six pitfalls to avoid when trading company stocks
Following fashion
Investing is cyclical, buying last year's winners often means holding this year's losers.
Losing your balance
You end up with too much exposure to an individual company or sector that has taken your fancy.
Being over active
If you chop and change your portfolio too often, dealing charges will eat up your gains.
Running your losers
Investors hate admitting mistakes and hold onto bad stocks hoping they will come good.
Selling in a panic
If you sell up when the market drops, you have locked yourself out of the recovery.
Timing the market
Even the best investor in the world cannot consistently call market movements.
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
JERSEY INFO
Red Jersey
General Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the leader of the General Classification by time.
Green Jersey
Points Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the fastest sprinter, who has obtained the best positions in each stage and intermediate sprints.
White Jersey
Young Rider Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the best young rider born after January 1, 1995 in the overall classification by time (U25).
Black Jersey
Intermediate Sprint Classification: worn daily, starting from Stage 2, by the rider who has gained the most Intermediate Sprint Points.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
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.”
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group F
Manchester City v Hoffenheim, midnight (Wednesday, UAE)
The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
On Instagram: @WithHopeUAE
Although social media can be harmful to our mental health, paradoxically, one of the antidotes comes with the many social-media accounts devoted to normalising mental-health struggles. With Hope UAE is one of them.
The group, which has about 3,600 followers, was started three years ago by five Emirati women to address the stigma surrounding the subject. Via Instagram, the group recently began featuring personal accounts by Emiratis. The posts are written under the hashtag #mymindmatters, along with a black-and-white photo of the subject holding the group’s signature red balloon.
“Depression is ugly,” says one of the users, Amani. “It paints everything around me and everything in me.”
Saaed, meanwhile, faces the daunting task of caring for four family members with psychological disorders. “I’ve had no support and no resources here to help me,” he says. “It has been, and still is, a one-man battle against the demons of fractured minds.”
In addition to With Hope UAE’s frank social-media presence, the group holds talks and workshops in Dubai. “Change takes time,” Reem Al Ali, vice chairman and a founding member of With Hope UAE, told The National earlier this year. “It won’t happen overnight, and it will take persistent and passionate people to bring about this change.”
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
MATCH INFO
Borussia Dortmund 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Kimmich 43')
Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
The%20specs
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THE CARD
2pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
2.30pm: Handicap Dh 76,000 (D) 1,400m
3pm: Handicap Dh 64,000 (D) 1,200m
3.30pm: Shadwell Farm Conditions Dh 100,000 (D) 1,000m
4pm: Maiden Dh 60,000 (D) 1,000m
4.30pm: Handicap 64,000 (D) 1,950m
CHINESE GRAND PRIX STARTING GRID
1st row
Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
2nd row
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes-GP)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
3rd row
Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing)
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull Racing)
4th row
Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
Sergio Perez (Force India)
5th row
Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault)
Romain Grosjean (Haas)
6th row
Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
Esteban Ocon (Force India)
7th row
Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren)
8th row
Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
9th row
Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
Lance Stroll (Williams)
10th row
Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
arcus Ericsson (Sauber)
Last five meetings
2013: South Korea 0-2 Brazil
2002: South Korea 2-3 Brazil
1999: South Korea 1-0 Brazil
1997: South Korea 1-2 Brazil
1995: South Korea 0-1 Brazil
Note: All friendlies
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Race card
1.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
2pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 84,000 (D) 1,400m
2.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,200m
3pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (D) 1.950m
3.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 76,000 (D) 1,800m
4pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 60,000 (D) 1,600m
4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 68,000 (D) 1,000m
