The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi has been ranked among the world's top institutions for computer science.
CSRankings rated MBZUAI as the 127th in the world. This ranking places the Abu Dhabi university alongside institutions such as Notre Dame, the University of Liverpool, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Osaka University, Paris's Ecole normale superieure and other prestigious international schools.
In just two years after opening its doors to students, the university has performed well among institutions that conduct research in computer science including AI, systems, theory, and interdisciplinary areas such as robotics, computer graphics, visualisation, and more.
In the areas that MBZUAI currently focuses on — AI, computer vision, machine learning, and natural language processing — it has been ranked 30th globally.
For this particular area, it has been placed ahead of several renowned research universities worldwide, such as the University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, and the University of Toronto in North America; Imperial College London, EPFL and the Max Planck Society in Europe; and the University of Tokyo, Seoul National University, and the University of Sydney in the Asia-Pacific region.
MBZUAI can now claim to be the top-ranked CS institution in the Arab world, and in the Middle East and Africa. CSRankings includes Israel as part of Europe.
Carnegie Mellon University; the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Peking University; the University of California, San Diego; Cornell University; the Georgia Institute of Technology; the University of Michigan and Stanford University took the overall top slots.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Chairman of MBZUAI's Board of Trustees, said: "Today, MBZUAI has achieved a significant milestone as it has been ranked 30th globally by CSRankings in AI, computer vision, machine learning, and natural language processing, placing it alongside elite, global research universities.
"This progress would not have been achieved without the vision, guidance and support of the leadership, and the sincere efforts of the MBZUAI team.
"Achieving such recognition is a demonstration of the UAE’s commitment to developing a knowledge-based economy through fostering AI-driven research and innovation, as well as empowering youth to become future leaders in this strategic sector.”
CSRankings says it is entirely metrics-based. Its rankings are designed to identify institutions and faculties actively engaged in computer science research. They take into account the number of research papers and publications by the faculty that have appeared at the most selective conferences in each area of computer science.
MBZUAI was established in October 2019 and is led by Prof Eric Xing who works alongside 33 faculty members that come from organisations that lead the CSRankings list. The university is committed to significant growth in the coming years.
The university is also teaming up with US technology company IBM to open a research centre at its Masdar City campus to develop products.
Graduation ceremony of MBZUAI students in May - in pictures
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
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Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Keita 5', Firmino 26'
Porto 0
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
