Latest news with #Covid-impacted
Web Release
7 days ago
- Science
- Web Release
AURAK Graduation Ceremony Sees Record Number of Female Graduates; AI Gains Prominence
Female graduates outnumbered males at the twin Commencement Ceremonies of the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK), while Artificial Intelligence (AI) took center-stage with the number of graduates doubling in just one year. The two graduation ceremonies (13th and 14th) saw a total of 331 graduate and undergraduate students receive their degrees, of which 188 (56.8 per cent) were female, reflecting the growing trend of women aspiring for careers and entrepreneurship. The second major takeaway was the rising prominence of AI in the career landscape. The ceremony saw the very first batch of the university's Bachelor in Artificial Intelligence receive their degrees. AURAK's Bachelor of Science in AI is a four-year program that empowers students to design and develop computer systems and data models, using the latest advances in the field. The 13th Graduation Ceremony (Class of 24) had extra significance attached to it, for these graduates had entered university in the thick of Covid-19 disruption, and had to navigate through the unknown territory of online classes. AURAK, listed among Top 500 Universities in the 2025 QS World University Rankings and occupying the sixth position among UAE universities, honored 68 graduates and 263 undergraduates at the two ceremonies held on successive days. Eight students earned the Summa Cum Laude (highest distinction) honor. H.E. Robert Raines, US Consul General in Dubai, who delivered the Commencement Adress, hailed the resilience displayed by the Covid-impacted graduates of the Class of 2024, and urged them to draw inspiration from the ghaf tree, whose roots go 60 meters into the soil. 'Remember your resilience. Remember that you can do this, whether you become scientists, teachers, entrepreneurs, engineers, artists or diplomats. You're entering a world that faces serious global challenges. You will need your resilience to survive and to succeed, and the world needs you to succeed. Second, I hope that you'll remember the value and the importance of community… because it is your community that will nourish you as you grow,' H.E. Robert Raines remarked. Dr. David A. Schmidt, President of AURAK, in his welcome address, said: 'The world you are stepping into demands resilience, adaptability and vision. You've proven that you can navigate uncertainty and adapt to the unexpected. You've pursued knowledge, not at the absence of obstacles, but often in the face of them. As we confer your degrees, we do more than acknowledge your academic accomplishments, we affirm your readiness to lead and to shape the future.'. Prof. Stephen C. Wilhite, Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Success / Provost, urged the graduates to carry the legacy of appreciation for diversity and a commitment to promoting cultural understanding and to fostering civic responsibility. 'Learning is a lifelong process through which you can leverage your knowledge and skills to become leaders and entrepreneurs who can change the world for the better,' he added. The graduates received their degrees in the presence of the Chairman of the AURAK Board of Trustees and other board members; H.E. Robert Raines, US Consul General in Dubai; AURAK President David A. Schmidt; and administrative leadership team and faculty of the university. The Valedictorian Address was delivered by Mohammed Ayyub, the topper in Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology with the highest CGPA of 3.95, on the first day. For the second Commencement Ceremony, there were two Valedictorians: Maryam Saeed Sanad Abdulla Alnaqbi (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration), the first Emirati to earn the honor in recent years, and Leen Mohammad Jamal Zaid (Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology).
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Business Standard
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Stock Market LIVE Updates: GIFT Nifty shows gap-up open for Nifty, Sensex; Apr CPI, Q4 nos in focus
Sensex Today | Stock Market LIVE Updates: Indian stock markets are likely to open higher amid positive global cues, led by easing trade tensions between the two largest economies of the world 7:54 AM Stock Market LIVE Updates: Nifty 50 EPS grew just 4.7% in March quarter, slowest pace since 2017 Stock Market LIVE Updates: A recent deceleration in corporate earnings is now impacting the underlying earnings per share (EPS) and valuation ratios of key equity indices like the Nifty 50. So far this earnings season, the Nifty 50's underlying EPS has grown by only 4.7 per cent year-on-year, marking its slowest growth since 2017, excluding the Covid-impacted period of 2020. The index closed Tuesday with an EPS of ₹1,071.4, a modest increase from ₹1,023 at the end of May last year and ₹1,066 at the end of December. READ MORE 7:41 AM Stock Market LIVE Updates: Asia-Pacific markets mixed Stock Market LIVE Updates: Markets in the Asia-Pacific region are mixed on Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.57 per cent, while the Topix declined 1.05 per cent. South Korea's Kospi was higher by 0.67 per cent and the Kosdaq was flat with a positive bias b 0.02 per cent. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was flat with a negative bias, down by 0.1 per cent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.16 per cent, while mainland China's CSI 300 was lower by 0.21 per cent. 7:34 AM Stock Market LIVE Updates: Wall Street closes mixed
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Manchester United have a new football heritage ahead of Europa League final vs Tottenham
Football heritage has a new meaning at Manchester United. Five cups, four more finals and the prospect of another trophy would represent a golden period for most clubs. United have crammed all of that into a doldrum decade. Their ninth European final will be more meaningful than their eighth, when supporters had to undergo more tests than a pupil during summer exams just to enter Gdansk in 2021. That Covid-impacted final was a hollow experience that served up 120 moribund minutes between United and Villarreal. United-Tottenham in a splendid Spanish city is the most consequential final in the Europa League era of what was once known as the Uefa Cup. Champions League qualification raises the stakes, never mind the prize pot of nearly £100million. READ MORE: Manchester United player ratings vs Athletic Bilbao with a 9/10 as Europa League final place confirmed READ MORE: Marcus Rashford shows his true colours as Man United Europa League final confirmed "The money is not the most important," Ruben Amorim insisted. "Even the title to win as a coach, is that feeling that we can do good things, the feeling to give something to our fans. Particularly in this season. "It's not just playing Champions League next season, it's that feeling that we can change things." Champions League qualification was not at the forefront of United fans' minds during their sole triumph in the Europa League. The 2017 final in Stockholm stirred raw emotions, held 48 hours after the barbaric Manchester Arena attack. On a sporting level, United completed the set by lifting a trophy whose silhouette did not previously appear on their honours' board. Tottenham have won the Uefa Cup twice. They have reached a Champions League final much more recently than United. As easy as some find it to deride Spurs, they are a bigger club than some that will finish in the top five of the Premier League and they boast European pedigree. United, for such a storied club, should have more European honours than the five they celebrated with their first tifo before the quarter-final tie with Lyon. We enter and exit the Old Trafford media centre via the Munich tunnel, a reminder not just of the tragedy that decimated the club in 1958 but the trailblazer that Sir Matt Busby and his Babes were when they embraced the European Cup competition. Leaving last night, a young fan asked about the final. It is a fascinating dynamic. Amorim admitted - with a chuckle - he and Ange Postecoglou are both "struggling". Spurs have won four and drawn one against United under Postecoglou. "But they're bottlers," the lad wryly added. One cannot argue with that. Since Spurs beat Chelsea in the 2008 League Cup final, they have lost finals in 2009, 2015, 2019 and 2021. 'Spursy' entered the football lexicon some time ago. Many are banking on United's mettle, disregarding their recent record against Spurs. "Every game has its history," Amorim said. "We lost the three last games, we can win this one, so if you look at the loss, we are closer to win than to lose. "Both teams are going to play all or nothing. The position of the coach is quite similar. I know Ange has one more year (on his contract), it is different, the context, but we are struggling, both of us! I don't know what is going to happen, it's a good thing and a bad thing with this team, I never know!" Postecoglou is 90 minutes away from making good on his pledge that "I always win things in my second year". The final is expected to be his last match in charge of Spurs. Looking from the outside, that inevitability seems to have emboldened him to ensure he leaves on a high Tottenham have not experienced in 17 years. Objectively, Spurs edge United in most areas. Guglielmo Vicario has been a better goalie than Andre Onana since they stepped foot on these shores from Europe's boot. Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie trump Diogo Dalot and Patrick Dorgu. Micky van de Ven is one of the Premier League's best centre halves when fit. They have more technically rounded midfielders than United and Dominic Solanke is a more reliable marksman than Rasmus Hojlund. But we come back to Sir Alex Ferguson's most famous team talk: lads, it's Tottenham. United's Europa League record is daunting: 16 games, nine wins, five draws, no defeats and 35 goals scored. In the six knockout ties, United plundered 19 goals while their Premier League goal difference sank towards minus double figures. United also have greater depth. Athletic Bilbao petered out quicker than the pyrotechnic smoke after Amad, Mason Mount and Kobbie Mainoo were introduced on Thursday night. Spurs are certain to be without Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison in Bilbao. Amorim should dismiss United's 3-0 humbling by Tottenham in September. Erik ten Hag was still clinging on and United's season was an extension of last season. Nothing was going to change until they changed the manager. The madcap League Cup tie in December is hardly relevant, either. United had Altay Bayindir, Antony and Christian Eriksen in their starting XI. Bayindir was not even the worst 'keeper on the pitch, with the cumbersome Fraser Forster up the other end. As for the 1-0 league loss in February, United were so depleted that Victor Lindelof was the bench's babysitter. Eight of the nine substitutes had never played for the club at the time. The only substitution Amorim made, a debut for Chido Obi, was in the 89th minute. It is a quirk of fate that United could win their second Europa League under a second Portuguese manager. Amorim and Jose Mourinho are the only United managers to reach a European final in their first season. Mourinho, of course, also managed Spurs and guided them to their last final in 2021. He was sacked six days before Spurs surrendered to City with Ryan Mason in the dugout for his first match in management. Of all his sackings, Mourinho told his former player John Obi Mikel that "the most ridiculous one was a club that has an empty trophy room [and] sacks me two days before a final". After City beat Spurs, Mourinho sent a friend an image of the 'Finalists 2020/21' keyring that Spurs had seriously flogged. That is football heritage.
The 42
03-05-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'We can take anyone on. They said Leinster by 30, but here we are'
IT WAS HARD to know where to look when full time arrived and Leinster's Champions Cup nightmare became cold, hard reality. At the Havelock Square end of the Aviva Stadium the Northampton players roared and jumped as the emotion of a famous Champions Cup win washed over them. On the sideline down below the replacements and staff spilled onto the pitch. The TV screens in the press box showed the Saints coaching staff hugging in the coaching box, the celebrations leaving director of rugby Phil Dowson holding a broken pair of glasses. Northampton have a rich history but this was one of their great days. It's rare to have such an underdog story at this late stage of any elite competition, but not only were the Premiership side widely expected to lose today, many felt it would be heavily one-sided. Northampton Saints fans celebrate the win. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO Instead they turned in a brilliant team performance to dump Leinster out of the competition they crave so desperately. The province won't compete in the Champions Cup final for the first time since the Covid-impacted days of 2021. The Saints march into their first decider since 2011. Advertisement They did it with quality, composure and a striking sense of confidence, surviving three yellow cards and scoring five tries against a team who didn't concede one single points in their two previous knock-out games. 'We probably came in as the underdogs but the fight we showed, the squad we've got, we know we can do this performance,' said winger Tommy Freeman, who continued his hot streak with a stunning first-half hat-trick. We know if we can get our game on the pitch we can take anyone on. They said Leinster by 30, but here we are. 'We put our game on the pitch, things start to happen, we stretch defences. Down by 13 we've got to show heart, we've got to show love for each other, and I thought we did that for 80 minutes and we got the result.' 'I don't think I'm surprised,' added Fraser Dingwall. Northampton's Tom West and Angus Scott-Young celebrate after the game. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO 'In this group there's so much talent, so much connection. We know what we've got within us. We were written off by a lot of people and we probably proved a point to a lot of folk around how good we are. 'We're a different team to last year, that's the important thing, no matter what strengths we had last year, we had different ones this year. We took a lot of learnings from the game last year and I hope you saw that. We turned up today wanting to be aggressors and we want to put our game on them. 'When we get things right we challenge anybody in the world. Yeah, we're buzzing.' Deserved winners, but they were perhaps fortunate with some calls by referee Pierre Brousset. The French official's decision to not allow Ross Byrne's late try created confusion on the pitch and in the stands. The wait made for a tense end game, but Northampton survived. 'The thing that was going through my head was that if they score here, it feels cruel,' said Dowson. 'I know sport's cruel and I know sport's unfair and that's the beauty of it but to be leading, I think we led the whole game, I don't know. To have lost it in the last minute with a bobbled ball and a referee's decision. 'Was it a knock on? Did Colesy [Alex Coles] release? It's all very intricate and subjective, and the referee makes a decision there and if we'd lost that I would have been gutted for the players because I know how hard they've worked, how much they've put into it. I see the lads at half-time blowing and I'm like, whoosh, that's a tough first 40 minutes. 'That's what was going through my head, it's so close and we concede here that doesn't feel quite right, and what do I say then to try and build them back up? Related Reads 'We get a little bit jittery' - Cullen regrets Leinster's 'horrific' defeat A team of spirited Saints make Leinster look human again Leinster's dream dead as Saints storm into Champions Cup final 'Then as soon as we get [the turnover] I think Juarno [Agustus] took the ball off them on their tap and go, I just said to the coaches, we're going to Cardiff, and Sam Vesty broke my glasses.'
BreakingNews.ie
25-04-2025
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Arne Slot wants Liverpool to win Premier League title in front of packed Anfield
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot admits his side have a big responsibility to fans to win the Premier League at Anfield. Five years ago Jurgen Klopp's team lifted the trophy in an empty stadium due to Covid restrictions, having won a first title in 30 years by 18 points. Advertisement Although there were celebrations outside the ground – both on the night they were confirmed as champions after Manchester City lost at Chelsea when Liverpool were not even playing, and the final game of the season – there was no victory parade for fans to show their appreciation. With just one point needed from their remaining five matches, Anfield is gearing up for a party at home to Tottenham, who have their eye on Thursday's Europa League semi-final first leg to save a dreadful season, and the expectation is that confirmation will come on Sunday. But Slot knows he and his players cannot be consumed by the occasion. 'It's a big responsibility because we are aware of the fact that the last time this club won the league it was Covid time, so everybody is looking forward to Sunday,' he said. Advertisement 'But we know that there's still a job to be done, and that's at least one point. That's what we know, that's something we are definitely aware of here inside this building. 'Hopefully our fans support us in the best possible way they can, which they've done the whole season, and are aware of the fact that we still need a point.' Slot will join Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Antonio Conte and Manuel Pellegrini as the fifth manager to win the Premier League in his debut season. Jurgen Klopp led Liverpool to their last Premier League title during the Covid-impacted 2019/20 season. Photo: Peter Byrne/PA. He would become the first Dutchman and the third Liverpool manager to win the league in his first full season in charge, emulating Joe Fagan in 1983-84 and Kenny Dalglish in 1985-86. Advertisement However, he is not considering his place in history just yet. 'I get these questions, so then it comes to your mind, of course, but that's the last thing you think about as a manager at this particular moment in time,' he added. 'The only thing I think about is that hopefully all the players are available and prepare them. 'I noticed last week (at Leicester) against a team that was relegated how hard it was to get the win over the line, so I'm not getting carried away at all.' Advertisement However, Slot hopes to be able to enjoy more than the few minutes of happiness he usually experiences after a game. Back at Anfield on Sunday 👊🔴 — Liverpool FC (@LFC) April 22, 2025 'I enjoy going to Anfield every single day, but the moment the referee blows his whistle, or even before that when I do my meetings, of course the focus is on trying to get the point or the win over the line,' he said. 'Normally we're only settling for a win and a point is not enough. Sport Eddie Howe 'not 100 per cent' but glad to be back... Read More 'So the moment you enjoy is mostly when the referee blows his whistle. These are the three, four or five minutes that you're really happy when you walk off the pitch. Advertisement 'Then you walk into a dressing room where you always see one or two players that are not as happy as I am because they haven't played, so then already you start to think, 'OK, this has to be managed again as well', and then I need to go to the media. 'So it's mostly three or four or five minutes that you're really happy, and then normal managerial life starts again.'
