A “Cool” Way To Get Fit: CRYO Health Dubai
As someone who has always associated saunas with heat and sweat, it was with some curiosity (and some trepidation) that I stepped into the ultra-cool confines of a “cryosauna” at the CRYO Health clinic at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Boulevard in Dubai. Once inside, the cryosauna, which is a tall, cylindrical chamber that can hold only one person at a time, blasted my body with icy cold air at temperatures below -140°C for a duration of three minutes.
While the process was, despite my apprehensions, not a painful one, it did leave me with a tingling sensation on my skin afterward. But besides that, was there a point in doing all of this? According to the people at CRYO Health, a single session in their cryotherapy chamber can burn up to 800 calories from your body. The science of the matter is that the sub-zero temperatures boost your body’s metabolism, and cause the release of enhanced levels of endorphins and adrenaline, which, besides helping you lose weight, also leaves you, well, feeling good about yourself. How’s that for a “cool” way to get fit?
EU Debt Crisis Causes Swiss Franc Surge
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) might as well hit the panic button, as the Swiss franc is feeling the heat from the Eurozone debt crisis. The Swiss franc’s value soared, following a huge increase in demand for the currency. A strong franc is not in the interest in the best interest for the Swiss simply because Switzerland’s economy relies massively on exports, and an expensive franc will repel buyers. For over three years, the Swiss National Bank has maintained a currency cap against the euro, in order to keep the currency from deflating and to maintain its pivotal export economy. All that has changed, though. While the bank was adamant on maintaining the cap, there have been concerns about the costs of doing so, which requires the SNB to buy assets in foreign currencies leading them to put an end to it. This problem is affecting many Europeans outside of Switzerland too, notably in Poland, Hungary, Croatia, and Austria. Many people were encouraged to take out Swiss franc mortgages. After abandoning its currency cap, the Swiss franc’s value increased to a value 21% stronger than the Polish zloty. This means that these homeowners have a greater amount to pay in mortgage loans. About 566,000 Poles are going through this problem right now, with 37% of all mortgages being Swiss franc-denominated. There is much cause for concern, and the entire eurozone is watching.
A Quarter Century Of Education: Skyline University College Preps Human Capital
Founder, President and Chairman of Skyline University College (SUC), Kamal Puri, doesn’t have illusions about the executive education debate. He just marked 25 years of educating the UAE’s human capital, and he can give you both the pros and cons of pursuing an MBA in the context of entrepreneurship. Puri says that while formal education for executives isn’t a must, invaluable “characteristics of determination and resilience, as well as positively coping with failure, and a passion for lifelong learning are key SUC directives,” and that they are indeed part of the rigors of a MBA- an opinion echoed by many entrepreneurs who have undertaken executive learning programs.
SUC recently received approval to add to their BBA and MBA programs by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR). Launched in the fall term of 2014, new courses included business-friendly majors in marketing and retail management and public administration at the BBA level, and a tactical emphasis on e-governance at the MBA level. In the fall semester of 2013, SUC launched a strategic management and leadership MBA, and they’ve also adopted the highly lauded gamification angle of entrepreneurial education with their on-campus Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab, “fully equipped with business games and simulation exercises for development of entrepreneurship skills among the students.” Skyline is also looking at a DBA [Doctorate of Business Administration] program and plans for “expanding vertically in the field of management as well as planning to expand horizontally in the areas of computer science, law and humanities.” In tandem with the growth and growing needs of the UAE’s emerging economy, SUC took into account the need for specialized areas like logistics and supply chain management, and the broader overall need for management and leadership learning streams.
By The Numbers:
1990 The year SUC was established
40 The size of the first SUC class
6000 The number of SUC alumni as of January 2015
40 The size in acres of the SUC campus in Sharjah, UAE
In Brief: SUC Founder, President and Chairman Kamal Puri
What types of responsibilities fall on institutions like SUC when educating human capital?
“Education institutions always have responsibility towards the community. Skyline carried its responsibility seriously, by transferring a model and scientific knowledge from experts, academicians and practitioners from different fields. We believe in developing human capital for sustainable development and economic growth of UAE. SUC in-classroom does not just give information and knowledge, but also teaches students to create, evaluate, analyze, apply, understand and remember. We not only impart education, but we also educate our students with taking initiative, risk management, business plan development. Committed to stakeholders, board of governors, faculty, students and the community as whole, SUC is always responsible for providing human capital on regional, national as well as global basis. Manpower is the most important factor for the growth of any organization, therefore Skyline imparts skills, knowledge, creativity, and value based education to build qualified manpower for the future.
Should people consider pursuing MBA when they know their career path will lead them to entrepreneurship?
“This is a debatable issue: think of successful people like Bill Gates, who never went to study a MBA in a university. But then, a MBA helps us to make a platform to start a business. I personally believe that one does not need to get a MBA degree if he or she needs to be technically sound or intends to run or start business related to technical fields. In this case, you can join a university which conducts technical courses, and then hire MBA graduates for your business. However, in the 21st century -in order to meet global competition- it’s necessary to undergo a MBA program where the right set of capabilities are developed to build up the entrepreneur in you. It will give you an upper hand in any business setup, and by undergoing a MBA or business education, your three important capabilities -which are needed for any business- are brushed up. First, enterprise capabilities, this deals with the organization and makes one an expert in handling uncertainty; create or implement new ways of doing business, risk and reward assessment, thinking positively to amendments and changes, and create and implement new ideas. Second, your personal capabilities, like fostering the habit of innovating creatively, risk-taking and managing ability, determination, independence and responsibility to make things happen. Third, aspects like language management, economics, finance, marketing, retail, sales, HR, and quality management come via executive education.”
Dubai Prepares To Host The 2016 Women’s Forum
UAE is gearing up to host the Women’s Forum in 2016, making its debut in the Middle East region. Founded in 2005, the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society is a global platform for women’s views on social and economic issues, with the Forum aimed to empower women from their industries. Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Women Establishment, commented on its importance and how the Forum can be a discourse to defying the misrepresentation of Arab women. As part of the preparations, Her Excellency Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Chairperson of the Board of Dubai Women Establishment, also met with the CEO of Women’s Forum Jacqueline Franjou, along with a visiting delegation, to discuss themes and speakers. Besides the Women’s Forum Global Meeting and an interactive online community, the Women’s Forum also formed initiatives to encourage women from different backgrounds, consisting of the Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards recognizing women entrepreneurs, Rising Talents connecting young women leaders, CEO Champions focusing on women’s corporate empowerment, and Women In Media strengthening women’s voices and professional representation in the media.
Book Review: Measurement Madness By Dina Gray, Pietro Micheli And Andrey Pavlov
If there is any one thing that can cause a collective eye roll or groan in a meeting, it’s the concept of performance measurement. That is because it’s possibly the most misused form of improvement tool that there is in business. It seems that companies everywhere are obsessed with measuring performance in a thousand different ways without realizing that a) measurements can be skewed and results played with and b) measurement for measurement’s sake is counterproductive. This wonderful new book points out all of the pitfalls of over-utilizing performance measurement, and even better it provides a correct map on how to actually use tools to properly measure demonstrated successes and failures. The authors create a fictional situation right at the beginning of the book to illustrate pitfalls and then talk about how to fix them. There is a somewhat long explanation of what performance measurement is, but that is really the only flaw in Measurement Madness. Give this a read before you assess members of your organization.
Qatar Motor Show Shifts Venues
Director of Exhibitions at the Qatar Tourism Authority, Hamad Al Abdan announced that the Qatar National Convention Centre will be hosting the fifth edition of the Qatar Motor Show (QMS), taking place between February 6-10, 2015. Al Abdan stated that the change in venue was to accommodate a larger turnout from automotive enthusiasts both in Qatar and across the region, as the exhibition’s popularity has increased dramatically. Attendees can expect to see auto industry leaders exhibiting their newest vehicles with their most innovative technology to date, including the likes of Jaguar, Mitsubishi, Bugatti, Lamborghini, BMW, Audi, Harley Davidson, Toyota, Ferrari, Porsche, and more. This year’s QMC is staged in partnership with q.media and Fira Barcelona, and sponsored by the Commercial Bank of Qatar.
Infographic: Enhancing Leadership Communication
Infographic: E-commerce and Aviation
The e-commerce boom in MENA continues, and there is documented growth in the aviation industry. Over the past year we’ve seen a massive 45% jump in online spending in that industry, both with commercial airlines and travel agencies. While growth differs across different countries in the region, the UAE is still the strongest in the market. This infographic by VISA shows how e-commerce in the aviation industry is truly taking off!
Tommy Hilfiger Signs Rafael Nadal As New Global Brand Ambassador
Rafael Nadal is no stranger to comebacks. After appearing in Abu Dhabi for his Mubadala World Tennis Championship, the world’s no. 3 is back in the Middle East for his ATP World Tour at the Qatar ExxonMobile Open as defending champ (The National). We’ll be seeing a lot more of the 28-year-old tennis pro (if you catch our drift) as he signs on as the new global brand ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger underwear and tailored collections. With campaigns to be photographed early this year in Spain, media placements will rollout globally for the 2015 fall collection.
Celebrity brand endorsements can certainly increase sales- one recent case in point is performing artist Taylor Swift. The seven-time Grammy award-winner has appeared in ads for multinational brands like Subway, Target and Diet Coke. The result? According to Nielsen’s Music 360 report, fans now associate Swift with those brands and their products- not a bad move at all since her squeaky- clean image can only help sales.
Nissan And NASA To Develop Self-Driving Vehicles
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Nissan and NASA plan to boldly go where no man has gone before. The two companies have joined forces to develop and deploy autonomous drive vehicles- cars that drive themselves. The five-year research and development deal will focus on autonomous drive systems, human interface solutions and hardware for road and space applications. Consumers are expected to use the driverless, zero emission vehicles to transport everything from goods to people, but not without ample testing, of course. Researchers plan to be test driving the first vehicle of the fleet by the end of this year. Beware earthlings; self-driving vehicles could be on the roadways beginning in 2016.