DUBAI // Nineteen UAE teams will participate in the World Robot Olympiad finals starting today in Kuala Lumpur.
Teams from 35 countries will compete over three days on creations representing the theme Connecting People: Let's Bring Social Robots to Life.
More than 20,000 teams took part in local qualifying rounds around the world. The UAE teams were selected from 300 groups in state and private schools that battled it out this year.
The qualifying teams took part in regional challenges in Qatar last month, where three placed in the top two of their categories.
Najla Al Naqbi, the Olympiad programme manager at the Abu Dhabi Education Council, or Adec, said the competition aimed to encourage creative thinking, innovation and problem-solving skills among children.
"The competition provides them with opportunities that help improve their engineering, technical, mathematical and scientific skills, as well as their international communication skills," Ms Al Naqbi said.
She said they also wanted pupils to gain experience collaboration and exchanging ideas with peers from across the world.
"These types of international competitions help provide pupils with inspirational opportunities to display their skills and knowledge in front of the world."
Adec hosted last year's international challenge last year.
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- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
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World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
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- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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