AI research advances with MBZUAI and IBM collaboration

Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the world’s first graduate, research university dedicated to Artificial Intelligence (AI), has announced plans for a strategic collaboration with IBM. 

Senior leaders from both organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at advancing fundamental AI research and accelerating the types of scientific breakthroughs that could unlock the potential of AI to help solve some of humanity’s most difficult challenges.

Professor Eric Xing, President of MBZUAI, delivered short remarks, as did Jonathan Adashek, IBM’s Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer, and Saad Toma, General Manager, IBM Middle East, and Africa. The agreement was then signed by Sultan Al Hajji, Vice President for Public Affairs and Alumni Relations at MBZUAI and Wael Abdoush, General Manager IBM Gulf and Levant. 

“We’re excited to to be among the first research universities in the MENA region to host a Center of Excellence for AI research and development with technology and expertise from a world-leading technological giant like IBM. This center will provide highly valuable resource and collaborative environment to our faculty and students to broaden their work in AI. IBM has a long history of technological innovation, and we look forward to joining their latest efforts in our region and together advance AI technology and commercialization for mutual good,” MBZUAI President, Professor Eric Xing said.

Saad Toma, General Manager, IBM Middle East and Africa, said: “This collaboration will help drive innovations in AI which is critical for the future of business and society. We’re bringing together some of the brightest minds across both the industry and academia, while reinforcing IBM’s commitment to promoting knowledge and skills in critical areas for the UAE’s development, where the use of technologies like AI is fundamental.”

The partnership will be spearheaded by the creation of a new AI Center of Excellence at the university’s Masdar City campus. The Center will focus on the promotion of both fundamental and practical research objectives, leveraging the talents of IBM researchers in conjunction with MBZUAI faculty and students.

The goal of the effort is to create, validate, and incubate innovations that use AI to solve civic, social, and business problems. In addition, the collaboration seeks to create real-world applications, particularly in the fields of natural language processing and AI applications that aim to advance climate and sustainability goals, as well as speed healthcare discoveries.

As part of the effort, IBM will deliver focused training and technologies to support the university’s ambition of being a global leader in AI research and application for the benefit of society and business. For example, IBM will provide MBZUAI students and faculty with access to IBM tools, software, courseware, and cloud accounts for teaching, learning, and non-commercial research through the IBM Academic Initiative. MBZUAI will also have access to curated AI curriculum, lectures, labs, industrial use cases, design-thinking workshops, and an AI Practitioner certification through the IBM Skills Academy programme.