More than 100 tech specialists graduate from Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence
The latest class of graduates from the world's first dedicated artificial intelligence university have proudly completed their studies.
More than 100 students graduated from Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence on Wednesday during a ceremony in Abu Dhabi. They hail from 24 countries, and include 91 master's degree and 12 PhD students, with 20 Emiratis among them.
The cohort's research covered a range of cutting-edge areas, including detecting Alzheimer's disease, developing climate change models and building Arabic-language AI tools.
The university opened in 2020 as part of the UAE's strategy to become a global centre for AI development and innovation.
Among the 104 graduates was Daniel Gebre, 27, from Eritrea, who completed a master's degree in machine learning. His research focused on making AI models smaller and more efficient so they can be used on mobile phones in areas with limited internet access.
'This was deeply personal. I grew up in a place with poor internet,' he told The National. 'I wanted to build tools that people like my friends back home could use for studying and daily activities, without needing a connection.'
Mr Gebre arrived in the country in 2019 through a UAE government scholarship programme and earned a bachelor's degree in cybersecurity from Zayed University. He now has a job offer as a machine learning engineer from technology group G42.
Umaima Rahman, 29, from India, earned a PhD in computer vision, with a research focus on deep learning for medical imaging. She is now exploring postdoctoral roles and jobs focused on AI applications in health care.
'The journey was difficult but extremely rewarding,' she said. 'One of the best things about the university is the collaborative research environment – you're encouraged to work across disciplines.'
Making the grade
For Yevheniia Kryklyvets, 24, from Ukraine, the ceremony was especially emotional. After missing her undergraduate graduation in 2022 due to the war in Ukraine, this marked her first official ceremony. She completed a master's degree in computer vision.
'It was so exciting, especially seeing the support from the country's leadership,' Ms Kryklyvets said.
'This is a research-based university, so what we're doing is an applied AI. Our projects can be published and can be interpreted into the real world and used for problem solving.'
Career fairs hosted by the university connected her with industry leaders already seeking to recruit from the graduating class, but she is yet to decide which direction she would like to take.
'The UAE is not just contributing to the global AI movement, but is at the centre stage,' Prof Eric Xing, MBZUAI president, told The National.
'I think that the university had an impact in taking the country into that league. The function of the university is really to make the impossible possible with our hard work and also with minds.'
The university's curriculum includes core disciplines like machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing, with research applications in fields such as health care, climate and language technology.
It recently announced a five and 10-year plan, including establishing two new colleges – for digital public health and decision science.
'This really entails adding additional disciplines and under the foundation of AI know-how, but addressing real problems in the space of medicine, biology and also operational research and business administrations,' said Prof Xing.
In 10 years, the university will look to establish a school of arts and sciences and a school of engineering.
Earlier this month, the UAE and US announced plans to build a new five-gigawatt AI Campus in Abu Dhabi during US President Donald Trump's visit.
According to the US Department of Commerce and state news agency Wam, the campus will host data centres that allow American tech companies to offer faster AI services to nearly half of the world's population living within 3,200km of the UAE.
It will be one of the largest AI centres outside the US, the Department of Commerce said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arabian Business
2 hours ago
- Arabian Business
Kuwait bans outdoor work between 11am and 4pm
Kuwait has introduced a ban on outdoor work during the hottest parts of the day until September. The Public Authority of Manpower (PAM) declared that work in the open is banned from 11 am until 4 pm, effective until the end of August. PAM in a statement quoted the acting director, Marzouq Al-Otaibi, as saying PAM's inspection teams would enforce the administrative resolution 535/2015 concerning the ban on working in the uncovered locations for the summer three months. Kuwait outdoor work ban He warned that the inspectors would show up unexpectedly at work sites to check on possible breaches, for recording the offenses and taking legal action against those responsible. The decision aims at protecting the workers from the scorching summer heat during this period, he said, indicating that the decision does not imply cutting the working hours. The measure was enforced over the past years and was applied by the concerned companies, he said. Moreover, it came in compliance with public interests and Kuwait's adherence to international labour conventions.
Tahawul Tech
3 hours ago
- Tahawul Tech
Bespin Global outline their mission to take public sector enterprises to the cloud
Bespin Global, an e& enterprise company outlined in detail how their agile product portfolio is designed to help public sector enterprise navigate and circumvent issues they face when migrating to public sovereign cloud models, during an exclusive roundtable held at the Ritz-Carlton JBR earlier this week. The roundtable was held in conjunction with CPI Media Group, and was moderated by CNME Editor Mark Forker. The topic of the roundtable was entitled, Next-Gen Governance: Powering the Future of Digital Government with Cloud. The series of presentations were delivered by the executive leadership from Bespin Global, which included; Mouteih Chaghlil, CEO of Bespin Global, Bassam Abbasi, Head of Network & Security, at Bespin Global and Sami Wahab, VP – Sales at Bespin Global. The roundtable was attended by IT leaders from the following public sector organisations. Abu Dhabi Mobility Sharjah Muncipality Smart Umm Al Quwain Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (DMCC) Dubai Legal Department EDGE Group Al Kuwait Hospital Dubai Dubai Culture & Arts Ministry of Finance Dubai Air Navigation Services The first session of the roundtable was delivered by Bespin Global CEO, Mouteih Chaghlil, who laid out how the company wants to be the partner of choice for public sector entities looking to accelerate their migration to the cloud. 'We know there are many challenges, and data classification is certainly a big one. What sort of data do I have, what is it, where is it, where does it need to reside, this sort of data classification needs to be determined, but it's not always black and white, and AI is only as good as the data you have. However, what we do know is that 32% of public sector entities in the UAE, KSA and Egypt are already utilising cloud-based customer engagement solutions, and 40% of them are planning to adopt cloud in the next few years. The opportunity is huge, and we know we have the capabilities to build secure and compliant hybrid/multi-cloud environments that support sovereignty and resilience,' said Chaghlil. There was a huge level of engagement and interaction between Chaghlil and those in attendance, with some outlining their desire to remain with SaaS cloud models. Chaghlil then highlighted how public services digitised with cloud and AI can really deliver localised innovation at scale. 'Our cloud-native solutions are tailored to national priorities and governance models. Our AI models trained on localised data ensure cultural and legal alignment. Integration with legacy systems enables a smooth transition without disruption and scalable infrastructure enables a rapid deployment of new services. In addition to this, having real-time access to unified data across agencies improves responsiveness and collaboration,' said Chaghlil. The next presentation was delivered by Bassam Abbasi, Head of Network & Security, at Bespin Global, and he stressed the importance of building a secure hybrid/multi cloud strategy in order to to ensure smooth migrations for mission-critical systems. There was a sharp focus on the role of AI in relation to cybersecurity, and how it builds that resilience and transparency that governments require. Abbasi insisted that people will remain at the core of digital transformation. 'Trust, transparency and control are critical, they are non-negotiable, and we get that. We can implement sovereign cloud models to protect sensitive citizen data, whilst maintaining that transparency on the data in line with clear governance rules and policies. We offer opt-in features and self-service options that ultimately empower users. At the end of the day, that is our goal, we want to take people with us in a way in which they maintain autonomy on the direction, but also have agility with accountability,' said Abbasi. Abbasi also highlighted how the landscape was change dramatically over the next few years. 'Within the next 1-3 years the picture is going to look a lot different due to the fact that public sector enterprises are going to pivot to either hybrid multi-cloud (33%), multiple public clouds (31%) or hybrid cloud (23%), with only 7% planning to remain solely in a datacentre, or private cloud. This change is driven by the need to modernize infrastructure to meet increasing demand for digital citizen services, improve the citizen experience, strengthen data security, and harness the power of emerging technologies. In addition, IT leaders are motivated to modernize their IT environment to prepare for future crises,' said Abbasi. The final presentation of the roundtable was delivered by Sami Wahab, VP – Sales at Bespin Global. His presentation examined the elements that come beyond migrations, and was focused on how Bespin can unlock innovation and increase efficiency in the public sector. He highlighted how Bespin Global's products can 'modernise workforces' across the public sector. 'We know we have the capability to boost productivity and enhance collaboration with our state-of-the-art modern workforce solutions with a secure framework that ensures seamless connectivity and data protection, and it is ultimately designed to transform the way you work. In summary, we design, develop and implement bespoke cloud solutions that specifically cater to your unique business needs,' said Wahab. Wahab concluded a brilliant presentation by giving those attendance some predictions that they envisage over the next few years. 'In terms of the multi-cloud, by 2027, 40% of enterprises will rely on interwoven IT architectures across cloud, core, and edge to support dynamic, location-agnostic workflow priorities. When it comes to GenAI on the cloud, by the end of this year, 70% of enterprises will form strategic ties to cloud providers for GenAI platforms, developer tools, and infrastructure, requiring new corporate controls for data and cost governance – and in terms of cloud data mobility, over the next 12 months, 55% of the G2000 will adopt multi cloud data logistic platforms to enable active data migration between hyperscalers to optimise costs, reduce vendor dependencies, and improve governance,' said Wahab.
Khaleej Times
8 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Nearly half of UAE consumers feel AI not meeting their customer service expectations
More than half (54 per cent) of UAE consumers say that failing to understand emotional cues is more of an AI trait than human, a study showed. According to research by ServiceNow, the AI platform for business transformation, Despite rapid advancements in AI and its widespread use in customer service, UAE consumers overwhelmingly (at least 68 per cent) prefer to interact with people for customer support. ServiceNow's Consumer Voice Report 2025 surveyed 17,000 adults across 13 countries in EMEA — including 1000 in the UAE — and explores consumer expectations when it comes to AI's role in customer experience (CX). Based on the findings of the research, the perceived lack of AI's general emotional intelligence (EQ) is a critical factor in shaping consumer sentiment in this regard. Fifty one per cent feel agents having a limited understanding of context is more likely to be AI; and an equal number say misunderstanding slang, idioms and informal language is more likely AI. Meanwhile, nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of UAE consumers feel repetitive or scripted responses are more of an AI trait. 'The key takeaway for business leaders is that AI can no longer be just another customer service tool – it has to be an essential partner to the human agent. The future of customer relationships now lies at the intersection of AI and emotional intelligence (EQ). Consumers no longer want AI that just gets the job done; they want AI that understands them,' commented William O'Neill, Area VP, UAE at ServiceNow. High stakes, low trust The report also highlights a clear AI trust gap, particularly for urgent or complex requests. UAE consumers embrace AI for speed and convenience in low-risk/routine tasks — 23 per cent of UAE consumers trust an AI chatbot for scheduling a car service appointment and 24 per cent say they are happy to use an AI chatbot for tracking a lost or delayed package. However, when it comes to more sensitive or urgent tasks, consumer confidence in AI drops. Only 13 per cent would trust AI to dispute a suspicious transaction on their bank account with 43 per cent instead preferring to handle this in-person. Similarly, when it comes to troubleshooting a home internet issue, only 20 per cent of consumers across the Emirates are happy to rely on an AI chatbot, with 50 per cent preferring to troubleshoot the issue with someone on the phone. Humans and AI For all the frustrations with AI — almost half (47 per cent) of UAE consumers say their customer service interactions with AI chatbots have not met their expectations — the research does suggest that consumers consider AI as crucial for organizations looking to deliver exceptional customer experiences. For one, in addition to seamless service (90 per cent), quick response times (89 per cent) and accurate information (88 per cent), more than three quarter (76 per cent) of UAE consumers expect the organizations they deal with to provide a good chatbot service. But perhaps more interestingly, 85 per cent of consumers across the Emirates expect the option for self-service problem solving, which does indicate the need for organizations to integrate AI insights and data analysis into service channels to anticipate customer needs before they arise. 'While AI in customer service is currently falling short of consumer expectations, it is not failing. Rather, it is evolving. There is an opportunity for businesses to refine AI by empowering it with the right information, making it more adaptive, emotionally aware, and seamlessly integrated with human agents to take/recommend the next best action and deliver unparalleled customer relationships,' added O'Neill. 'Consumers do not want less AI – they want AI that works smarter. By understanding the biggest pain points, companies can make AI a trusted ally rather than a frustrating barrier.'
