CASE STUDY
Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence was established to be a worldleading Artificial Intelligence research and development institution , in terms of core knowledge but also translational and interdisciplinary work . Hand-in-hand with this , the university is tasked with building up an ecosystem of practitioners and entrepreneurs , aligned with the UAE National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031 .
Against a backdrop of global talent shortages , the university is providing a pipeline of specialists to support UAE ’ s innovation trajectory . The University is supporting the UAE to find solutions to the world ’ s most pressing challenges with transformative research in areas such as healthcare , education , and climate .
As a research university , there is a strong focus on students taking a central role in research . Examples include pioneering work around using computer vision and machine learning to analyse medical scans , the application of digital twins for personalised cognitive health , and smart microgrids .
The university offers the MBZUAI Executive Programme , which was launched in September 2021 to support the UAE Government , NGOs , and businesses , by delivering practical Artificial Intelligence training and knowledge to the digital first executive leaders to unlock opportunities .
Participants complete a rigorous 12-week programme consisting of coursework , lectures , and collaborative project work covering essential topics including Artificial Intelligence , machine learning and the economy ; lingual cognition and intelligence ; visual cognition and intelligence , and Artificial Intelligence ethics and policymaking .
Industry alliances
MBZUAI has formed numerous partnerships with organisations regionally and globally to advance research and bring the benefits of Artificial Intelligence to industry , while also providing opportunities for students to work on cutting edge research projects and internships .
In the healthcare space , MBZUAI has signed agreements with organisations including Quris-Artificial Intelligence , Infinite Brain Technologies , Emirates Health Services , and BioMap , aimed at collaboration to help advance healthcare with Artificial Intelligence .
MBZUAI and Etihad Airways , the national airline of the UAE , signed an MoU to jointly develop initiatives and conduct research into how Artificial Intelligence could transform key aspects of the nation ’ s aviation sector .
The MoU also encompasses training opportunities for MBZUAI students , focusing on deepening their understanding of the aviation industry and exploring the potential of Artificial Intelligence in addressing its challenges . Additionally , the partnership will facilitate scientific research and expertise exchange to develop innovative solutions that enhance crucial aspects of aviation .
MBZUAI partnered with IBM to launch an Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence in Abu Dhabi , which aims to develop and promote Artificial Intelligence technology to drive sustainability . The centre will develop carbon neutral solutions to existing energy supplies and combat climate change .
MBZUAI was involved in the development of Jais , the world ’ s largest and most accurate Arabic large language model , LLM . The model is the result of a collaboration between Inception , MBZUAI , and Cerebras Systems . Jais was trained on the Condor Galaxy 1 , Artificial Intelligence supercomputer co-developed by G42 and Cerebras Systems . Jais ’ training , fine-tuning , and evaluation were undertaken by an Inception , MBZUAI joint team on Condor Galaxy 1 .
Research areas
Sustainability is a particular focus for MBZUAI , which has several research projects and initiatives aimed at helping to preserve the environment , including the pursuits of sustainable LLMs .
In early-2023 , MBZUAI President and University Professor , Eric Xing , led a global collaboration with researchers at UC Berkeley , CMU , Stanford , and UC San Diego to address the unsustainable costs of training and running LLMs . The multidisciplinary team developed an LLM named Vicuna as an alternative to the astronomical cost and carbon footprint of OpenAI ’ s GPT-3 .
THROUGH THEIR EXPOSURE TO ELITE RESEARCHERS
AND HEADS OF INDUSTRY , PRIVATE AND PUBLIC
SECTOR LEADERS IN UAE ARE GROWING INTO A
POWERFUL ECOSYSTEM .
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