Upon entering the student bar of my university for a quick Diet Coke between lectures earlier this year, I was expecting to catch the usual snippets of moaning and complaining that I have become accustomed to from my fellow students.

Make the mistake of entering into polite conversation with any student in university, and you will probably either hear about how unbearable their workload is or how Cupid has cheated them out of a well deserved love-life. I never fail to wonder how they expect that sitting in a dimly lit bar at 4 in the afternoon will work towards solving either problem. That afternoon though, I was to find myself listening to problems of a different kind. A group of students had gathered together and were asking any passer by, from professors to tea-ladies, to sign a petition against fees for a university education.

I was lucky enough to have started my degree well before the Labour government had introduced this legislation, so I had largely ignored the subject, but now I was faced with a group of angry students filled to the brim with alcohol, attacking me with a pen and a piece of paper. That night, I finally began to give the topic some well-deserved thought. I wondered how I would have felt if I could not afford the fees, but knew I was capable of obtaining a degree. Is it really fair to charge students? Well, one first has to look at the figures and put them in perspective. Before the mandatory charge was brought about, British residents not only received a free education, but most were also entitled to a maintenance grant, paid to them in three installments throughout the scholastic year, and subsequent grants for extenuating circumstances. On top of all this, they were also entitled to a student loan, which they were not accountable for until they graduated and started working.

Now, not only do students have to pay an annual fee, but they do not receive grants unless there are extreme factors involved. This may put a lot of potential graduates off entering university, especially those who feel that they are capable of demanding high wage packets without the passport-style freedom offered by a degree. A common response is, "Why do I need a piece of paper to prove I am worthy?"

Is a degree really that important? The answer has to be yes. It is not the be all and end all of a successful life, but few would argue that in today's hugely competitive world, even a simple degree alone is not always enough to achieve job satisfaction. There are many other factors involved, namely the respectability of the university graduated from and also post graduate qualifications.

Many years ago, most people did not even dream of going to university let alone obtaining a Masters or a PHD. Today, many students feel compelled to stay ahead of the rat-race by placing as many of those beautifully initialled letters after their names as possible. So why should the government place barriers in front of those who are only trying to secure a decent future for themselves? Well, the answer to that question really depends on what viewpoint one chooses to adopt. Those in favour of the new legislation argue that the money being saved by the government goes towards improving, amongst other things, the health and welfare system in the country, and although the saving for the government is immense, to the individual who has a great enough desire to be educated, circa £1000 a year is not out of their reach. If the finances of the individual are in a state that obtaining a degree is well beyond their reach, and if the student shows themself academically capable, then financial aid would be offered.

The more cynical among us would not entirely agree with this reasoning. They question why every child in the country is entitled to a free education up until university, and then denied if unwilling to pay. Should the government not want to have as high an education rate as possible? After all, is the future of the country not dependant on a highly educated populace? The cynical viewpoint is that education has, as with almost every other aspect of our lives, turned into a big business. Many people feel that the government knows that the fee is just small enough to justifiable, and although it would make life a lot harder on the majority, the percentage populace that it would turn away from entering university would be negligible, and it would remain a hugely profitable step in the long-run.

To the parent who earns £100,000 a year, the fee would obviously not present as much difficulty as it would to the parent who earns £15,000. The amount is probably affordable to both, and neither would deny their child the opportunity of obtaining a degree, but one will face greater financial hardships than the other. Now if this really was the ideology behind the venture, it would suggest that the importance of making money through the education system was greater than the goal of having a completely educated populace.

To be fair, many students do view going to university as a chance to broaden their social circle and generally spend three or four years doing as little work as possible.

This happens to be how most people tend to regard student attitude, but one should always keep in mind that these students are the conspicuous ones and are bound to be the ones who are noticed. Who is going to notice the hundreds of students crammed in the library day and night, studying topics that would send the average man to sleep faster than the most effective tranquillisers? Who spares a thought for them. University is the first chance most people get to have their own freedom and be treated like adults.

Of course not all of them are going to react perfectly at first. Ultimately, these are the last few years in which they can enjoy a relative lack of responsibility. Young people are always going to enjoy themselves to a certain extent, and if a large proportion of their time is going to be taken up worrying about money management and part-time work, then, ultimately it will be their studies that will suffer. This is something that is going to have to be looked at very carefully in the future. One has to look very carefully at history. After all, if Plato had charged all those who studied at his academy, would the world have ever been blessed with the genius of the likes of Euclid and Aristotle?

All I want to do is fly," Golareh "Gil" Lakpour, an 19-year-old Iranian born air cadet whose ambition is to become a Tornado pilot, told BIBA. In fact, should she succeed in her dream, Sgt Cadet Lakpour would be one of three women in the UK to do so. Golareh came to Britain with her family when she was only five. Growing up in Lancashire she was fascinated with the idea of flying.

"At first when I decided to join the cadets my mother thought it was only a phase," she says. "But, when she saw how determined her daughter was, she supported me all the way." When she was personally congratulated by Home Secretary Jack Straw after receiving her advanced gliding certificate and an RAF flying scholarship, her mother Simin, aunt Masrim, grandmother Halimeh and uncle Alan were among those who turned out to see her receive her certificates.

Presently studying A-level art and design at Bury College, Gil hopes to go on to university; after that the sky will be the limits. Having gained bronze and silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards, Gil is now going for gold and planning a canoe expedition.

She is also a drum major for the 1036 (Bury) Squadron, East Lancashire Wing and last year led it to third place in the corps band competition at Halton. A keen sportswoman, Cadet Sgt Gil Lakpour, a member of the 635 Volunteer Gliding School (VGS) based at British Aerospace Samlesbury, near Preston, has also applied for the air cadet parachute course. Gil hopes to get her full pilotís licence in America later this summer.

"The vision is fundamental," says Kamran Elahian, an American-Iranian pioneer and entrepreneur par excellence. "In the eyes of the Internet, everyone is the same. The Internet is colour blind and race blind and religion blind." This seems to sum up his philosophy behind his plans to link 100 schools in each of 50 countries to the "electronic revolution" so that students can learn at an early age to break the political and ethnic barriers that separate their parents.

Elahian’s achievements are truly impressive for an immigrant. In 1981, he started his first company, CAE Systems Inc at the age of 27. In 1984, Tektronix Inc bought CAE for $75 million, but Elahian’s investors took the lion’s share, leaving him with only a few million. So he launched chipmaker Cirrus Logic Inc. It went public in 1989, valued at $150million.

By the company’s 10th anniversary his revenues stood in excess of $1billion. Elahian left Cirrus in 1989 to start a new company, Momenta Corporation. It lost $40million by 1992, opening a new phase in his life. "Going bankrupt was not a good feeling," he admits. But it did get him thinking. His desire to focus on technologies that bring people closer to each other resulted in the creation of three new companies: NeoMagic Corporation, a multi-media semiconductor company (with a valuation of over $300 million); PlanetWeb, Inc, a three-year-old company developing communication software for Internet appliances; and, Centillium Technology Corporation, a two-year-old semi-conducting company that is developing new technology to increase the bandwith for telecommunications.

In May of 1996, inspired by a CNN report on schools and the internet, Elahian started ProjectNEAT (the National Education Advancement Team) a non-profit organisation that aims to bring together volunteers to identify the schools in disadvantaged areas which could be linked by the Internet. In September 1998, Elahian decided to expand the project to the Middle East. He created a special project under the umbrella of Hello 2000 and called it Schools Online at the Middle East (SOLAM). Currently he is working on a training program for the teachers in cooperation with the Stevens Institute of Technology, and is planning to bring all the teachers together for a 2-3 day training workshop on the Internet and its usage in classrooms. Eventually, he would like SOLAM to cover 14 countries in the Middle East although Iran remains out of reach for the time being.

Max Ladjevardi, USA

Max Ladjevardi

Soho Inc owns no industrial tools, no factory and no warehouse. It is, instead, a "virtual company," hiring out everything to manufacture more than $4million a year of its core product – a fully adjustable computer workstation. Max Ladjevardi, a 34 year old graduate of Harvard Business School and founder of Soho left Iran in 1979 after the revolutionary government nationalised his family’s business. Soon after emigrating to the US the teenage Max was rejoined by much of his family. At the same time, his future wife, Bibi Kasrai, whom he knew only slightly at the time, fled the country under more dangerous conditions. Her father, Siavash Kasrai, was one of Iran’s best-known poets. Ms. Kasrai says she and family members walked through the desert into Afghanistan, at times crawling through minefields. Today this dynamic couple are aiming for a tiny piece of the big pie: the desk market for the millions of Americans buying computers who prefer ergonomic designs. The January 2000 issue of Forbes revealed their latest plans: to sell Soho to free up time and capital for Aevora, a manufacturer and marketer of hair-coloring products.

Ghermezain family,Canada

The Ghermezians immigrated to Montreal from Iran in 1959. By 1964 they were well established in the distribution trade. By 1974, seven years after they had moved to Edmonton, they had accumulated hundreds of hectares of valuable land, much of it in and around Edmonton, Calgary, and Vancouver. By the 1980s the Ghermezians (the late father Jacob and his sons Nader, Raphael, Eskander and Bahman) had emerged as one of the most powerful and influential families in Edmonton. At the time, they were Alberta’s largest private urban real estate owner and developer, with investments extending into hotels, apartments, nightclubs, office towers, shopping centres, and resource companies. Together, and through their company, Triple Five Corporation Ltd, the family amassed a fortune estimated at more than $1billion in assets. Many of these assets were sold in the late 1980s and early 1990s; however, they still retained ownership of West Edmonton Mall, the largest shopping centre in the world.

Kamran Eshraghian, Australia

Professor Kamran Eshraghian is the Head of School and Foundation Professor of Computer, Communication and Electronic Engineering. He is an internationally renowned scientist and co-inventor of the bionic microchip. Professor Eshraghian’s pioneering work in CMOS VLSI technology has been encapsulated in a standard text now used by more than four hundred universities throughout the world. It is this technology that has revolutionised the development of the personal computer. Professor Eshraghian has held academic positions around the world, has been granted numerous patents and has co-authored many books. His contributions have recently been further recognised by his appointment as Adjunct Professor at The University of Adelaide.

Shahram Besharat, France

Shahram Besharat

In a recent survey by the Nouvelle Economist two Iranians were listed among 50 top managers in France. The two successful Iranians are Shahram Besharat (32) managing director of EUROPE & WEB, and Guive Shafee (28), project director at ALCATEL. Besharat is currently busy identifying investment opportunities in internet companies for Bernard Arneau, the owner of LVMH. Fascinated by the internet, this young Iranian studied at the French Polytechnic in Paris. After completing his education in France, Besharat spent a few years working for Morgan Stanley in London. Five years ago, having obtained a degree in the USA, Besharat joined LVHM. Last year he joined EUROPE & WEB and as its managing director transformed it into one of the largest internet companies.

Kaveh Zahedi graduated from University College London with a degree in Economics. He also has an MA in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in the USA. He has been working as a Programme

Officer for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at its headquarters in Nairobi for the past three years. The focus of his work is the Global Environment OUtlook (GEO), a programme to assess the global environment and provide advice on alternative environmental policies to governments. He is responsible for the GEO operations in Latin America and the Caribbean and West Asia. Before UNEP, he worked for a UK based non governmental organisation (NGO), overseeing their small enterprise development projects in Latin America.

What is attractive about working for the UN?

I first became interested in working for the UN at University while studying the economics of developing countries. At that time, I thought that working for the UN would be a good way to help Third World development and work alongside likeminded people from al over the world. This has mostly been true. The UN has provided me with a wonderful opportunity to work in a multi-cultural environment with people from all corners of the globe. It has also given me the chance to travel widely, working with organisations and governments ranging from Brazil to Bahrain. I don't think that any other organisation can offer the diversity of surroundings and people that the UN does.

Does it provide a long-term career or a launch pad?

In spite of the recent financial turmoil in which the UN has found itself, the organisation can easily provide a long-term career. It is big enough and has a wide enough global presence to provide mobility, both geographically and between its different arms, and to keep careers interesting. The organisation is an excellent place to gain experience of working and living in the developing world and provides a good launch pad for a career in the development aid sector.

However, the UN also has many of the disadvantages associated with large public sector bureaucracies, especially for people in the first half of their careers. Promotion within many of the UN organisations is as dependant on politics as merit, and more tied to age and years of experience than capability or achievement. In addition, most organisations within the UN family are very hierarchical and reluctant to give responsibility and management experience to young professionals.
Having said the, some organisations of UN, such as the ones dealing with refugees (UNHCR) and children (UNICEF) are less hierarchical and more dynamic than others, thereby providing better opportunities for young professionals.

Is it easy to join the UN?

Joining the UN, probably more than any other organisation needs a great deal of networking as the system is not totally transparent. Unfortunately, the network of Iranians in the organisation is much weaker than those of other nationalities, making it all that much more difficult for our new comers to enter the organisation.
Opportunities for women are much better than for men as the UN is striving to achieve equal numbers within the next two years. Because of this there are also better opportunities for promotion for women that men.

Are the rewards attractive?

If you are interested in living and working in developing countries, the UN provides unparalleled opportunities. As the organisation is spread throughout the world, quality of life is very much dependant upon location and type of work. UNEP is more a policy institution, working with governments and think tanks and its activities rarely necessitate travel to war-torn or famine affected countries. On the other hand, the work of the UN's emergency organisations, such as the World Food Programme, are concentrated in more dangerous places with the obvious impacts on your lifestyle. These emergency operations, however, can also be more personally rewarding, as they allow you to work more directly with people in most urgent need o the UN's help.

On the whole, it is not worth joining the UN to get rich, but if the work interests you, the rewards are more than enough. The salaries are tax-free and living in countries such as Kenya, as well as being fascinating, allows one to have a fairly high quality of Life.

What does one learn?

During my time at UNEP, I have been responsible for a wide variety of jobs, from helping to plan the entire organisation's work programme to implementing environmental training projects and writing publications about the state of the world's environment. The exposure I have had to the international environmental sector, and the main actors and policy makers in this filed, would have been hard to achieve in any other organisation.

Last word

My experience at the UN is restricted to a few of its organisations, but much of what I have written applies throughout the organisation. Even though the UN is undergoing a great deal of change, striving to become more effective and efficient, I don't believe that the general work culture will be dramatically different in the near future. Consequently, I will probably work in various UN organisations periodically throughout my career, but I don't believe that I will dedicate my entire career to the UN. This, I hope, will keep my career dynamic and my interest in the ideals of the UN untarnished.