First students at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence

Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence admitted its first students in an online ceremony.

The 78 students from 29 countries will begin their studies in Abu Dhabi this week. Of those students, 14 are Emiratis.

International students began arriving in Abu Dhabi in November for cultural introduction to the UAE and to complete coronavirus health and safety measures.

In his welcome speech to the students on Tuesday, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and chairman of the MBZUAI board of trustees, spoke of the importance of AI.

“I am delighted to welcome the first cohort [of students]. With global expertise and a truly international student body hailing from 29 countries, the university will empower the UAE to become a leader in the field of AI,” Dr Al Jaber said.

“We are on the path towards leveraging AI as a truly transformative tool to support the UAE’s socio-economic development while leading the way in the use of AI to address some of the world’s greatest challenges.”

University president Prof Eric Xing, together with faculty and staff, also attended the event.

The university’s students were chosen from thousands of applications received from about 100 countries.

The first intake includes 13 doctoral students and 65 master’s students, who have enrolled in machine learning and computer vision programmes.

“The vision for MBZUAI is to nurture a new generation of leaders in science, engineering, policy and business with the necessary understanding to unlock the potential of AI through their academic research and industrial applications,” Prof Xing said.

“I would like to urge all of the students to develop the essential qualities of a technologist by challenging results from established researchers, thinking creatively, putting knowledge into practice and aspiring to become leaders who will change the world.”

Abu Dhabi’s MBZUAI is the world’s first graduate-level, research-based AI university. It is now accepting applications for the autumn 2021 start in computer vision and machine learning master’s and doctoral programmes.

Early admission will close on Friday and the regular admission deadline is April 15. The next academic year begins in August.

University’s first students were challenged to put their knowledge into practice and establish the UAE as a leader in AI