Abu Dhabi announced the establishment of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, which will enable graduate students, businesses, and governments to advance the artificial intelligence field.
The University will introduce a new model of academia and research to the field of AI, providing students and faculty access to some of the world’s most advanced AI systems to unleash its potential for economic and societal development.
Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State, who has been appointed Chair of the MBZUAI Board of Trustees and is spearheading the establishment of the University, said, "Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence aligns with the vision of the UAE leadership that is based on sustainable development, progress and the overall well-being of humanity.
Experts from around the world have been selected for the University’s Board of Trustees, WAM reported.
They include MBZUAI Interim President, Professor Sir Michael Brady, professor of Oncological Imaging at the University of Oxford, UK; Professor Anil K. Jain, a University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University, USA; Professor Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, Dean of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Information Sciences at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, a technology executive and venture capitalist based in Beijing, China; Professor Daniela Rus, Director of Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, USA, and Peng Xiao, CEO of Group 42.
The Board of Trustees will be supported by an Advisory Board, chaired by Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, and will include Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences; Dr. Ahmad bin Abdullah Humaid Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills; Jassim Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Department of Finance, and Dr. Wan Li Min, Chief Machine Intelligence Scientist at Alibaba.
Over the next decade, AI is set to have a transformational impact on the global economy, with experts estimating that, by 2030, AI could contribute nearly US$16 trillion to the global economy.
Al Jaber added, "The invention of electricity, the railroad, smartphones all transformed the world as we knew it. AI can lead to an ever greater societal and economic transformation, but first we must ensure we have the right infrastructure, talents, and academic institutions."
The University will offer Master of Science, MSc, and PhD level programmes in key areas of AI – Machine Learning, Computer Vision, and Natural Language Processing – while also engaging policymakers and businesses around the world so that AI is harnessed responsibly as a force for positive transformation.