Twenty students who recently returned from a youth ambassadors programme to South Korea have been received by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, at Al Bateen Palace in Abu Dhabi.
The three-week scheme introduced 10 male and 10 female Emirati university students to Korean language, culture, industry, government and business.
"It was an intense and unforgettable experience," said Saeed Al Kabaisi, 24, who studies at Abu Dhabi Men's Higher Colleges of Technology.
The electrical engineering graduate admitted he knew little about South Korea until he applied for the trip.
"When I started researching about it for the application essays I became fascinated," he said.
Mr Moon Byung Jun, who runs the programme at the South Korean Embassy, said it was a significant step in strengthening UAE-South Korea ties.
And it certainly kept the students busy. "Can you believe I didn't have time to answer my family's phone calls?" asked Ahmad Al Shanqiti, 23, a civil and environmental engineering graduate from UAE University.
Their day began at 8am with intensive Korean language classes, followed by lectures from prominent guest speakers at 3pm and finally a cultural activity, ending at about 9pm.
The language was quite a challenge. "The pronunciation in Korean is totally different but the programme challenged us and gave us 'Mission Possibles' where we could only use Korean when we greeted people, ordered food, and shopped in stores," Mr Al Shanqiti said.
After two weeks they were required to pass a language test.
"I didn't think I could do it," he said. "We had met other Khaleeji [Gulf] students who had been studying for four months and couldn't pass it. But you know what? In the end, 90 per cent of us got an A."
Immersion into Korean culture was a key aspect of the programme.
"We were introduced to Korean music, or K-Pop as they call it, and saw a couple of live shows, witnessed the martial art tae kwando and visited green tea farms," Mr Al Shanqiti said.
Guest speakers included the senior secretary to the Korean president and the minister of knowledge economy.
What was particularly impressive, said Mr Al Shanqiti, was that all the speakers arrived on time or early.
The students also visited major Korean companies, including Samsung, Hyundai and the Korea Electrical Power Corporation (Kepco), which is building the UAE's nuclear reactors.
"Kepco gave us details of how they won the bid and it is no surprise as they, like other Korean companies and sectors, heavily invest in research and development, and have their vision set clearly," Mr Shanqiti said.
The message he has brought home is that a country's human resources are its most valuable asset.
"Korea showed us what is possible with a solid work ethic and dedication," he said. "Like Korea, the UAE has come a long way in a short time and through their human capital, both countries are set to continue."
tsubaihi@thenational.ae
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
WHAT IS GRAPHENE?
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Chelsea 0
Liverpool 2 (Mane 50', 54')
Red card: Andreas Christensen (Chelsea)
Man of the match: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
The specs
Engine: 2.2-litre, turbodiesel
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Power: 160hp
Torque: 385Nm
Price: Dh116,900
On sale: now
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Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
