K M I N T E R V I E W S E R I E S Young Achievers Series Click here K E R A L A M O N I T O R N E W S P O R T A L Rank Holder Dhanya Wants to Pursue Medicine, Physics by R S Priya THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - May 17 2004 This rank is by the grace of god, the prayers of my parents and the inspiration given by my teachers, says Dhanya C, the Nirmala Bhavan girl bagged First rank for SSLC exams. It is a festive occasion for all who are close to Dhanya, who bagged the much coveted first rank for this year's SSLC examinations. Sweets and laddoos are being distributed to everyone.More UAE's First Nokia Concept Store Opens in Abu Dhabi Mall Launch Click for expanded view of KM Nokia Make Welcome to Nokia's Exclusive 7200 Limited Edition Mobile into the UAE Abu Dhabi, UAE, May 18, 2004 - Nokia today inaugurated its first dedicated Nokia Concept Store in the UAE. Located in the Abu Dhabi Mall, Nokia's Concept Store is a three-dimensional manifestation of the Nokia brand. It will offer the highest levels of customer service and house the most comprehensive portfolio of Nokia products. The Nokia Concept Store will also stock exclusive products, such as the 7200 Limited Edition which was officially launched in the UAE today. A New Concept in Mobile Shopping Nokia's Concept Store embodies the total Nokia brand experience. The Nokia Concept Store is exclusively dedicated to Nokia phones, mobile enhancements, ring tones, graphics, games, software and exclusive merchandise. The Nokia Concept Store also offers expert customer service to new and returning customers looking to buy or maintain their phone. The store's design incorporates flowing organic shapes, soft white finishes and low-glare lighting to create a relaxed environment. Easy to navigate, the shop front features large, uncluttered windows and hi-tech terminals to help customers chose the correct phone for their individual lifestyle. "The aim of the Nokia Concept Store is to provide customers with an unmistakable visual and physical representation of all that the Nokia brand represents. It is not just another retail outlet, it is 100% Nokia," said Zsolt Ménesi, Marketing Manager, Nokia Middle East and North Africa. Products in the store are split into three groups - Fun, Fashion and Function - each catering to a specific lifestyle and containing a number of different phone categories. The store will be managed by Emirates Computers following international guidelines from Nokia. Feeling Exclusive The gleaming white 7200 LE was also on display during the opening of the Nokia Concept Store, highlighting the kinds of products that will be exclusively sold there. Only seven thousand, two hundred units of this concept phone, which has been crafted by the award-winning Nokia Design Studio, will be produced and distributed worldwide. "We are excited to unveil this elegant, limited-production phone which embodies the design expertise, quality and customer understanding that has made Nokia the industry's leader. Intoducing the 7200 LE at the launch of the first UAE Nokia Concept Store only serves to reinforce this message," said Zsolt Ménesi. The beauty of the Nokia 7200 Limited Edition with its tailored, pure white leather covers and state-of-the-art technology mirrors the blend of modern design and latest mobile communications offerings exhibited by the Nokia Concept Store itself. This haute couture-inspired clamshell phone is available in the Middle East exclusively at Nokia Concept Stores in the UAE, Kuwait and Egypt and will retail at 1,000 Euros. About Nokia Nokia is the world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia is dedicated to enhancing people's lives and productivity by providing easy-to-use and secure products like mobile phones, and solutions for imaging, games, media, mobile network operators and businesses. Nokia is a broadly held company with listings on five major exchanges. (KM News) Starcom MediaVest Wins Yahoo! Middle East Online Award - Kalamandalam Arts HSS Thrissur and Model Technical HSS, Kaloor bags all ranks in Arts and Technical groups Girls score maximum ranks in the Plus two examinations by KM Correspondent Thiruvananthapuram May 18: - State Education minister Naalakathu Soopy announced the Higher Secondary Plus two results today morning. Out of 3,08,446 students who wrote the HSC exams, 1,82,264 students passed - 23,833 with distinctions, 59,895 first class and 52,489 second class. Emin.A.Rahman of St. Josephs GHS, Kozhikode with a grand total of 584 marks, bagged the first rank in Science group. Emin was also the 15th rankholder in the SSLC examinations. The second rank in the Science group of 583 marks was shared by Lini.K.S, Cottonhill GHS, Thiruvananthapuram and Soumya. M.Nambishan, of Vivekodayam BHSS, Thrissur. There are again two claimers for the third rank with a grand total of 581 marks each - Sanam Latheef of St. Josephs GHS, Kozhikode and Anupama T.V. of St.Clares GHSS, Thrissur. In Humanities group, Alphonse A of Sacred Hearts HS Thevara (565 marks) got the first rank followed by Deepa Vijayan of Brahmodayam HSS, Kalady, Ernakulam (562 marks) in second rank and Dhanya Thomas, student of St.Marys BHSS, Bharananganam (551 marks) with the third rank. In the Commerce group, Sarin Mani of Mount Carmel School, Kottayam obtained first rank (574 marks). Anjala Alice of the same school got second rank (571 marks) and the third rank went to Lakshmi M.P of St. Josephs GHSS, Kozhikode (566 marks). Model Technical School, Kaloor has set a new record for itself by bagging all the first three ranks in the Technical group. George Tom of Model Technical School, Kaloor (580 marks) got the first rank in the Technical group. The second rank was shared by Minnu Babu and Franci Varghese with 577 marks each. Amita V.Raghav of the same school scored got 576 marks and got the third rank position. In the Arts group, all the three ranks went to Kalamandalam Arts H.S.S, Thrissur. Sreekala K.M of Kalamandalam Arts H.S.S, Thrissur bagged the first rank in Arts group (421 marks). The second rank in Arts group went to Anu Balachandran of the same school (414 marks) and the third rank went to Lonish Vijayanath (411 marks). This is quite a special reason for pride for the Kalamandalam Arts HSS Thrissur. The total pass percentage is around 59.09%. It is quite notable that girls scored the maximum ranks in the Plus two exams. -Keralamonitor.com Dubai eGovernment's AskDubai contact center handled over 60,000 calls and 1,200 emails Contact centres serve as lifeblood of modern business because of 24x7 accessibility and multiple interaction channels, says Dubai eGovernment May 18, 2004 Dubai eGovernment's AskDubai Contact Centre handled more than 60,000 calls and 1,200 emails since its launch in June 2003 and until April 2004. In addition, it initiated more than 20,000 outbound calls, 550 online chats and over 50 faxes. These figures were provided by Mahmood Al Bastaki, Business Process Re-engineering Consultant, Dubai eGovernment, while speaking at a seminar on Regional Call Centre Trends in Dubai. "Dubai eGovernment's AskDubai service is designed to be a single point of contact to all the government departments in Dubai, available 24 hours a day with bilingual support and multiple channels of communication," said Al Bastaki. "It is a unified point for inquiries, complaints and feedback and has been used effectively by some departments to outsource their customer care requirements." He outlined the advantages of AskDubai, such as a single toll-free number 7000 40000, an Internet Call Centre (ICC) with a look and feel in line with the Dubai eGovernment portal, which provides interactive on-line chatting with a customer care representative. Departments will harness substantial benefits and become more customer-centric. "Ever since AskDubai went live in June 2003, four government departments have outsourced their customer care operations to us. All the four departments have come back to us with a positive feedback. The ability of AskDubai to handle both informational and transactional services has been highly appreciated by them. Our future plans entail expanding the contact centre service to all the government departments, creating public awareness campaigns to encourage use of Ask Dubai among the community and businesses. We will introduce a CRM solution to gradually build a government knowledge base." Commenting on the role played by modern-day contact centres, Al Bastaki said: "Modern-day call centres offer a much-needed bridge between consumers and service providers with numerous advantages such as real-time support, 24x7 accessibility and multiple channels of communications, including telephone, Internet and SMS. They can make significant contribution to an organisation's growth, because they represent a perfect channel of communication between an organisation and its customers." "A contact centre plays many roles. It helps customers who are hesitant to do transactions without real-time support, or are not confident about exact options to select on a portal. A contact centre is of immense help when the customer makes a mistake and needs clarifications on certain issues. The biggest advantage is that a contact centre is available round the clock, allowing people to do their transaction after office hours, and from the comfort of their homes. Moreover, call centres have made the biggest contribution of reducing physical queues at service counters," added Al Bastaki. Al Bastaki said AskDubai offered government departments an ideal solution through outsourcing. "Outsourcing helps in various ways. It speeds up implementation, saves investment costs, ensures professional maintenance and enables the organisation to focus on its core business. It eliminates the need to develop a whole department, complete with hi-tech infrastructure and trained staff." Advantage Car Rental signs affiliation deal with world's largest privately owned car hire firm Partnership gives company access to worldwide distribution network Dubai, 17 May 2004: - Advantage Car Rental, a subsidiary of Al Yousuf Motors, today announced a partnership agreement with Advantage Rent-A-Car, one of the largest independently owned car rental companies in the United States. The deal, which is effective immediately, will see the Dubai-based company gain access to its namesake's worldwide distribution system that will allow travellers to the United Arab Emirates to book Advantage Rent-A-Car and to use Advantage Car Rental's facilities, while those leaving the Emirates can book car rental facilities in 16 countries around the world. These include countries in Western Europe, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. Commenting on the affiliation, Mr. Eyad Mosameh, Manager of Advantage Car Rental, said, "We are proud to be associated with Advantage Rent-A-Car. Under the terms of the agreement, the Advantage Car Rental sales staff will receive comprehensive training from Advantage Rent-A-Car in order to familiarize themselves with the new global network. Ms. Diane Hauke, Director of International Relations for Advantage Rent-A-Car says, "We look for connectivity and similar working practices in all of our affiliates. Advantage Car Rental Dubai, surpassed our expectations and we are extremely happy to be affiliated with them." In addition to offering a wide range of motor vehicles and its dedication to superior levels of after-sales support, Al Yousuf Motors is now actively engaged in leasing activities to ensure its customer's needs are met at all times. 80 PLAYERS TO CONTEST ABU DHABI MOTORS OPEN SQUASH CHAMPIONSHIP Dubai - 16/05/04 Abu Dhabi: Eighty squash players are expected to battle for top honours in the Abu Dhabi Motors Open Squash Championship 2004, to be held at the Sheraton Abu Dhabi Resort and Towers from May 22 to June 9. Organised by the Abu Dhabi Squash and Racquet Association, the annual tournament - formerly the Abu Dhabi Open - is being sponsored by Abu Dhabi Motors, the exclusive importer for BMW Group cars and motorcycles in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. "For years, BMW has been associated with sporting ambition and success. A sporty character is an integral part of the BMW brand. And, just like its premium-sector products, the company sets high standards in its sporting activities too," said Arno Husselmann, General Manager, Abu Dhabi Motors. "Abu Dhabi Motors' sponsorship of the Abu Dhabi Motors Open Squash Championship reinforces our commitment to serving the local community in all spheres and at all levels of society. I wish everyone who takes part every success." The tournament, which is open to squash players resident in the UAE, will be played on a knockout basis. Each match will consist of five sets and will utilise the American (15 points) system of scoring. There will be Super Division, First Division, Second Division and Plate competitions. Abu Dhabi Motors is providing Dhs 15,250 in sponsorship money. Abu Dhabi Motors sponsors squash tournament/2 The winner of the Super Division will receive Dhs 3,000 in prize money; the runner up Dhs 1,500 and the semi-finalists Dhs 750 each. The top prize in Division One is Dhs 1,500, with the runner up receiving Dhs 1,000 and the semi-finalists Dhs 500 each. In Division two the winner will earn Dhs 1,000, the runner up Dhs 700 and the semi-finalists Dhs 300 each. Trophies will be presented in all three divisions and the Plate competition. Abu Dhabi Squash Racquet Association (ADSRA) will be responsible for seeding, the draw and officiating at the tournament. Entrance to the tournament costs Dhs 50. ADSRA has been running the ABU DHABI League for over two decades, which also includes the open and Ramadan cup tournaments. We at ADSRA are pleased to welcome Abu Dhabi Motors and also wish to thank them for their support and hope they will continue to in the future. At the end of the tournament, which is also being co-sponsored by Shoot magazine and Evian, a gala prize presentation dinner will be held at the Sheraton Abu Dhabi Resort and Towers on June 9. "Sheraton Palms Resort is proud to host such a longstanding and popular tournament", said Scott Brown, Resort Manager at Sheraton Abu Dhabi Resort and Towers. "It gives our members a great opportunity to get involved and for us to further our commitment to the local squash community. We look forward to seeing some great matches in the coming weeks." Tanmia trains team to provide focused evaluation of job-seekers DUBAI May 16, 2004 The National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia) has embarked on an ambitious new project that aims to upgrade the evaluation skills of its employment officers with the objective of advising and guiding National job-seekers into appropriate placements in the job market. Launched nine months ago in association with an international consultancy firm specializing in assessment testing, the project is currently passing through a practical stage of studying its direct impact on candidates, taking into account the local environment and culture. The assessment tools were tested on certain groups of registered job-seekers from different backgrounds, in an effort to validate and adapt these tools to cover a wide range of subjects. The tests included English Language Proficiency (written and oral), Work Values Inventory, Interest Inventory, Vocational Aptitude and IT proficiency. "There is a real need to develop scientific evaluation modules to assess job-seekers, education and professional preferences as well as their skills, interests and aptitude," said Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Awar, Director General, Tanmia. "This project is aimed at training our employment officers to administer the testing process. It is designed to develop the career path of all National job-seekers at different levels to drive personal achievements and self-motivation.. " As part of the project, Tanmia employment officers are being trained in areas like test administration and scoring, analysis of test results, writing test reports and presenting the information to Tanmia clients. Dr. Al-Awar added: "Experts have developed highly effective tools to help our employment officers evaluate job-seekers' abilities and direct them to specific job streams, based on their ability. Such an approach will increase the confidence levels of Nationals and increase their chances of integration in the job market, especially in the private sector." Dr. Al-Awar said this project could lead to the establishment of a job seeker assessment facility at Tanmia, a move that will considerably enhance Tanmia's ability to produce well-rounded employees from its database of National job-seekers. "Adopting new assessment and career guidance tools in collaboration with an internationally renowned specialist firm is one of Tanmia's strategies to become a more effective instrument in raising the numbers of Nationals' recruitment in the private sector," commented Dr. Al-Awar. "It will help us identify strengths and weaknesses of job- seekers, as well as enable us to advise them on further skills development courses, with particular jobs in minds. The current stage of testing the new modules on different sets of job seekers will demonstrate how effective these tools are and how they can be adapted to meet the needs of the local market and socio-cultural environment." Young Achievers Series Click here DUBAI FESTIVAL CITY'S MAJOR RETAIL VENUE TO FEATURE OVER 450 SHOPS & SERVICES DUBAI - 17th May 2004 Dubai Festival City, the waterfront 'city-within-a-city' development taking shape on the banks of Dubai Creek, has unveiled some of the large names that will feature in its huge Waterfront retail venue. Over 450 shops and services will open in just 28 months time. The Waterfront Centre, the retail hub of the project will host an IKEA mega store, a Hypermarket, large format Family Fashion anchors, ACE Hardware, plus a multitude of service and home décor retailers. The Waterfront will also feature 10 large format international flagship retailers including Marks & Spencer, Plug Ins and the region's largest Toys R Us. "The design of the Waterfront is now complete and we have begun construction on the 11,800 car parking spaces required to service this retail venue. We are fully on schedule to open in just over two years," said Omar Al-Futtaim, CEO of the Al-Futtaim Group, the private investor behind Dubai Festival City. In a recent ceremony to mark their commitment to the project, executives from Marks & Spencer, Toys R Us, Plug-In Electronix and IKEA have agreed with the Al-Futtaim Group to become the Waterfront Centre's first confirmed branded stores. "The commitment demonstrated by these brands sends a strong message to Dubai's retailing community that this destination will be a compelling addition to the emirate's shopping mall landscape," said Al-Futtaim. The Waterfront will also be a family entertainment destination containing a 12 screen cinema, two international family entertainment centres, an international food court and 100 restaurants and cafes, many overlooking the marina and Dubai Creek. "The Waterfront will come alive with the Intercontinental Dubai Festival City, a 600-room hotel due to open in 2007, five unique specialty markets, an amusement park and a 2.5 kilometre Corniche," explained Phil McArthur, Director of Leasing & Marketing, Dubai Festival City. "Being at the Waterfront will be relaxing and interesting. It will be about people meeting and having fun, whether it is shopping, dining or simply enjoying a boat ride around the marina." In a city where shopping malls are springing up left, right and centre, the Dubai Festival City team has been working round the clock to ensure that Dubai's centreplace destination will be about more than just shopping. "The Al-Futtaim Group's retail experience with automotive brands such as Toyota and Lexus as well as its shopping centre experience with IKEA, Toys R Us and Plug Ins, has taught us a lot about what the customer wants from a shopping experience," said McArthur. The Waterfront at Dubai Festival City has been developed in conjunction with some of the world's most acclaimed operators and consultants. "This is to ensure we deliver a world-class down-town waterfront venue," said Al-Futtaim. A key advantage compared to other down-town facilities, will be its expansive car parking. "We have allowed for a car parking to leaseable area ratio of 6.2 cars per 100 square metres, which is the highest in Dubai," said McArthur. "This will ensure visitors have a hassle-free experience. People will come here for a complete experience, shopping, dining and entertainment and this is why we have focused very much on the ease of parking experience''. "Attention to detail across every component is what Dubai Festival City is all about. Retail is about detail - it's an old expression, but when we are building a project of this magnitude, our team must get all the details right today to ensure our visitors have a great experience tomorrow." By September this year, the first signs of construction of the IKEA mega store will be visible. "This is going to be a huge store of some 26,900 square metres - that's three times the size of the existing IKEA in Deira City Centre and there'll be 700 parking stalls adjacent to the store," said McArthur. Opposite IKEA will be a 20,000 square metres hypermarket. There will be 1,800 shaded car parking slots for hypermarket customers. ENDS Caption: Joining Dubai Festival City's retail community - corporate representatives from Marks & Spencer, Plug-Ins Electronix, Toys R Us; IKEA; join Al-Futtaim executives at the formal signing. Scott McKay (GM, Plug-Ins Electronix), Vishesh Bhatia (Group Director Electronics, Al-Futtaim Group), Phil McArthur (Director - Leasing and Marketing, Dubai Festival City), Mohammed Al-Futtaim, Miles Young (GM, Marks & Spencer), Jim McCallum (Group Director Retail - Al-Futtaim Group) Abu Bakr Al-Futtaim (Director, Al-Futtaim Group), Mile Francevic, (GM, IKEA), Dean Thompson (GM, Toys R Us) @KM 2004 Page Designed by V M Sathish