President Sheikh Mohamed hailed Abu Dhabi's artificial intelligence university for developing the next generation of advanced technology talent during a visit on Friday.
Sheikh Mohamed highlighted the crucial role being played by the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, in Masdar City, in shaping the nation's vision for the future.
The President was briefed on the university's key global partnerships in the rapidly evolving field and was briefed on the academic programmes on offer, key areas of research focus, and the resources available to students, during the tour.
Sheikh Mohamed inspected the university's data observatory, where researchers and faculty members presented five AI-driven research projects covering energy, climate, medicine, genetics, media and robotics.
In addition, two start-ups from the university’s incubator and entrepreneurship centre showcased their work.
Sheikh Mohamed met Prof Eric Xing, president of MBZUAI, along with faculty members, administrators and postgraduate students.
He urged students to continue their academic pursuits, emphasising the benefits of advancing knowledge to serve their nation.
Sheikh Mohamed underlined the key role to be played by the university in preparing citizens for the careers of the future in a knowledge-based economy − in which AI will be at the forefront.
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President Sheikh Mohamed views research projects by university students and staff while visiting the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. Also present are Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and UAE National Security Adviser, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc and chairman of Masdar, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority, Abu Dhabi Executive Council member and managing director and group chief executive of Mubadala Investment Company, and Eric Xing, president and university professor of MBZUAI. Photo: Abdulla Al Bedwawi / UAE Presidential Court -
Sheikh Mohamed bids farewell to Mr Xing at the end of his visit to MBZUAI. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / UAE Presidential Court -
Sheikh Mohamed signs the guestbook at MBZUAI, as Sheikh Tahnoun and Mr Al Mubarak stand in the background, while Mr Xing looks on. Photo: Abdulla Al Bedwawi / UAE Presidential Court -
Sheikh Mohamed views research projects at MBZUAI. Photo: Abdulla Al Bedwawi / UAE Presidential Court -
Sheikh Mohamed greets a MBZUAI faculty member during his visit. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / UAE Presidential Court -
Sheikh Mohamed greets Dezhen Song, deputy department chairman of robotics and professor of robotics at MBZUAI. Photo: Abdulla Al Bedwawi / UAE Presidential Court -
Sheikh Mohamed bids farewell to a MBZUAI faculty member. During his visit, the President emphasised to staff and students the importance of advancing knowledge to serve their nations and communities. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / UAE Presidential Court -
Sheikh Mohamed chairs a meeting at MBZUAI. Among those present were Sheikh Mansour, Sheikh Tahnoun, Dr Al Jaber and Mr Al Mubarak. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / UAE Presidential Court -
Sheikh Mansour, Sheikh Tahnoun and Mr Al Mubarak during the visit to MBZUAI. The university is helping shape the nation's vision for the future. Photo: Abdulla Al Bedwawi / UAE Presidential Court -
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs, and Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad, Adviser to the President, during the visit to MBZUAI. Photo: Abdulla Al Bedwawi / UAE Presidential Court -
A robotics demonstration at MBZUAI. Sheikh Mohamed was briefed on the university's key global partnerships in the rapidly evolving field and on its academic programmes. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / UAE Presidential Court -
A robotics demonstration at MBZUAI. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / UAE Presidential Court -
Sheikh Mansour and Sheikh Tahnoun during their visit to MBZUAI. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / UAE Presidential Court -
Sheikh Hamdan and Sheikh Mohamed bin Hamad during their visit to MBZUAI. Photo: Hamad Al Kaabi / UAE Presidential Court
He also expressed his hopes that the university would contribute to a strong scientific foundation through specialised AI research and studies.
Prof Xing said MBZUAI had achieved a number of milestones since its establishment in 2019, ranking 10th globally in artificial intelligence, computer vision, machine learning, natural language processing, robotics, and computational biology.
He praised the UAE leadership’s ongoing support for the university.
Sheikh Mohamed was joined on the visit by ministers and senior officials, including Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court; Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and National Security Adviser; Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Khaldoon Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority, Abu Dhabi Executive Council member and managing director and group chief executive of Mubadala Investment Company,
UAE embraces AI revolution
The launch of the university in AI was central to the UAE's efforts to unlock the potential of artificial intelligence and help to steer its development on the global stage.
Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for AI, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications, was appointed the world's first AI minister in 2017.
In 2023, he was named one of the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence in a Time magazine list, joining the likes of billionaire business magnate Elon Musk and Chat GPT creator Sam Altman.
Sheikh Tahnoon was part of the same list the following year. Sheikh Tahnoon, chairman of Abu Dhabi's leading artificial intelligence and cloud computing group G42, has been pivotal to the UAE's efforts to champion the responsible use of artificial intelligence.
In April, G42 received a $1.5 billion investment from Microsoft. The expanded partnership includes the creation of a $1 billion fund to support developers, aimed at enhancing the Middle East's technology talent pool.
An Abu Dhabi-developed artificial intelligence large language model for Arabic was unveiled in 2023, aiming to bring one of the world's most widely used languages into the AI mainstream.
Jais, an open-source bilingual Arabic-English model, was developed by Inception, a unit of G42, MBZUAI and Silicon Valley-based Cerebras Systems.
