All university students in UAE to get free Google Gemini 2.5 Pro subscription in AI push

Government deal with tech giant to encourage young to become AI natives and save them about Dh73 a month

The UAE wants its young people to become AI natives by incorporating machine learning into their education. Getty / AFP

All university students in the UAE will be given a free subscription to Google’s AI assistant, as part of efforts to boost the use of artificial intelligence in learning.

The UAE government said the deal will grant every university student free access to Google Gemini 2.5 Pro, the tech giant’s most advanced AI model worth about Dh73 a month, for one year.

The plan is part of the UAE’s wider goal to build a future-ready workforce skilled in AI technologies and part of its National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

Students aged 18 and above can register for access to Gemini Pro before December 9, 2025. The platform will allow them to generate text, images, and video; conduct research; and manage daily tasks using generative AI.

Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, said the goal is to “leverage AI to develop skills, build capabilities, enhance efficiency, and accelerate innovation across all sectors, shaping a future driven by knowledge and creativity”.

Anthony Nakache, Google’s managing director for the Middle East and North Africa, said the deal comes amid a growing appetite for AI tools among UAE students and educators.

“We’ve seen a 110 per cent rise in searches related to AI and study topics in the UAE over the past two months compared with last year,” Mr Nakache said. “This reflects the positive attitude of teachers and students towards experimenting with modern technologies to foster creativity in education.”

Key features include:

• Deep Research: Generates reports from hundreds of online sources
• NotebookLM: a workspace that helps students organise notes, lectures, ideas and capable of summarising audio and video content
• Veo 3: converts text or photos into short video clips with sound