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MBZUAI Announces Largest Undergraduate AI Internship Cohort
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Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has announced the successful conclusion of its 2025 Undergraduate Research Internship Program (UGRIP). The program hosted its largest and most diverse cohort to date.
This fully funded, four-week residency brought together 57 top undergraduate students from 24 countries. Participants came from leading institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Maryland, and Nazarbayev University. The program took place at MBZUAI's campus in Abu Dhabi.
UGRIP offers students in their final or penultimate year an immersive opportunity to collaborate with world-renowned faculty on cutting-edge AI research. This year's projects covered machine learning, computer vision, robotics, natural language processing, and core computer science disciplines. The research aims for real-world impact.
Professor Timothy Baldwin, MBZUAI's Provost, revealed that the 2025 edition was record-breaking, with nearly 2,000 applications. The acceptance rate was just 4%, reflecting the program's growing competitiveness.
According to Professor Baldwin, the program attracts the best undergraduate AI talent globally. MBZUAI and Abu Dhabi are increasingly recognized as leading destinations for AI research and innovation. The experience also allows students to engage with the UAE's unique culture and expanding AI ecosystem.
Students were selected based on academic excellence, research potential, and passion for AI. They came from STEM fields including computer science, engineering, mathematics, data science, biotechnology, and software engineering. Egypt, the US, Russia, India, and Kazakhstan were among the most represented countries.
Interns joined faculty-led teams working on impactful projects such as brain tumor detection, automated media bias detection, interactive music generation, dialectal Arabic machine translation, and brain-machine interface frameworks. These projects showcase MBZUAI's research breadth and provide hands-on collaborative experiences.
Applications for UGRIP 2026 will open in January. MBZUAI invites undergraduate STEM students with a CGPA of 3.5 or higher in their final or second-last year to apply.
Key points: MBZUAI concluded its largest UGRIP cohort with 57 students from 24 countries.
The program offers fully funded AI research internships in Abu Dhabi.
Applications for UGRIP 2026 open in January for STEM undergraduates.
