King of Malaysia briefed on AI university in Abu Dhabi

King of Malaysia, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah met with Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial IntelligeShow more

The King of Malaysia has been briefed on the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi.

His Majesty Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah met with Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, on Saturday.

As the world's first university to have a singular focus on AI, the institution aims to attract students from around the world to advance the technology and propel the UAE’s economic diversification efforts.

The two men discussed the progress of the world’s first, graduate level, research-based AI university, which will hold its first lectures from September 2020.

The university will offer Masters degrees as well as PhD programmes in key areas of AI, including machine learning and natural language processing.

Ministers in the UAE hope its creation will help the Emirates equip the next generation of students with the latest in AI expertise.

“During the meeting, Dr Al Jaber highlighted that the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence is an open invitation from Abu Dhabi to the world to unleash the full potential of AI,” a statement from the university said.

“He discussed how Malaysia can benefit from AI, given its strong economy and talented population, and expressed the UAE’s desire to see MBZUAI become a higher education institution of choice for graduate students in Malaysia and beyond.”

Since its inception earlier this year, the university has received strong interest from potential students, with more than 7,000 beginning the application process.

So far, more than 700 students have submitted completed applications, including post-graduate students from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, India, Malaysia, and others.