UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has awarded the Order of the Union to MBZUAI’s Board of Trustees member Martin L Edelman, the distinguished legal expert and international advisor, in recognition of his role in advancing the UAE's global strategic partnerships and supporting its economic development vision. Congratulations, Martin.

منح صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن زايد آل نهيان، رئيس دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة، حفظه الله، مارتن ل. إيدلمان، عضو مجلس أمناء جامعة محمد بن زايد للذكاء الاصطناعي والخبير القانوني والمستشار الدولي، "وسام الاتحاد"، تقديراً لدوره في تعزيز شراكات دولة الإمارات الاستراتيجية والعالمية ودعم رؤيتها للتنمية الاقتصادية. نبارك لمارتن على هذا التكريم.

How can AI research help shape a path in aerospace engineering? For Huanying “Joy” Yeh, it landed her at SpaceX, where she’s an electrical engineer. A member of MBZUAI’s Undergraduate Research Internship Program (UGRIP) 2024 cohort, she explored how LLMs can be prompted to solve Olympiad linguistics problems, developing the problem-solving and systems thinking that translates across engineering disciplines, while building skills in project management and cross-team collaboration. Through UGRIP, Joy saw how AI intersects with aerospace, computer science, and complex engineering systems. Stay tuned for more stories from our past UGRIP participants and updates from the 2026 cohort.” Learn more: mbzuai.ac.ae/study/ #ArtificialIntelligence #AIResearch

At CVPR 2026, MBZUAI researchers will present work addressing core challenges in computer vision and multimodal AI: how models reason over long videos, how systems generalise with limited labels, how AI agents can support remote sensing, and how the field should approach watermarking in generative media. From the many papers accepted, we're spotlighting a selection of oral and highlight papers which focus on visual reasoning, trustworthy media, domain adaptation, remote sensing, and efficient foundation-model methods.

Genetics explains only a fraction of why people get sick. Environment, lifestyle, and the epigenome explain far more. And unlike DNA, those factors can change. A new framework published in Nature Genetics sets out how the UAE is uniquely positioned to turn that insight into population-scale disease prevention. The paper was co-authored by MBZUAI's: Professor Eran Segal - Dean of the Biological and Life Sciences Division, and Professor of Computational Biology; Professor Eduardo Beltrame - Assistant Professor of Computational Biology; Professor Shahrukh Hashmi- Adjunct Professor of Personalized Medicine, and Director of Research, Department of Health Abu Dhabi (DoH); Professor Andrew Feinberg - Visiting Scholar, MBZUAI, Director of the Center for Epigenetics, Chief of the Division of Molecular Medicine in the Department of Medicine, and the King Fahd Professor of Medicine, Oncology, Molecular Biology, and Genetics in the School of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. Read more — link here 👉 mbzuai.ac.ae/news/how-popula… Link to paper here 👉 nature.com/articles/s41588-0…

MBZUAI President and University Professor @ericxing is speaking today at 1:45 PM EST at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Symposium. His talk, “A World Model of the Virtual Cell,” is part of the “Scientific Agents and Multimodal Models” session and introduces a new AI architecture for biological simulation, and the team’s first implementation of a Virtual Cell World Model (VCWM). Join via Zoom (registration required): zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_… @CSHL @cshlmeetings #cshlsymp26 #ArtificialIntelligence

MBZUAI’s first-ever PhD graduate didn’t leave. He stayed and got to work. Since graduating in 2024, Numan Saeed has been at MBZUAI as a Research Scientist, collaborating with hospitals across the UAE, including Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, and Burjeel, to build the datasets and models needed to bring AI into real clinical settings. His approach starts with a simple shift: stop deciding what problems to solve, and start asking clinicians what they actually need. His work spans tumor segmentation, cancer prognosis, fetal ultrasound, and a new Cancer Foundation Model backed by a Department of Health grant, all built on locally generated data with radiologists in the loop. The goal is not to replace clinicians. It is to give them better tools. “If the clinician and the AI models are working together and addressing the problem as a team, then you’re going to have a much better chance of solving real problems.” Read Numan’s story: mbzuai.ac.ae/news/alumni-spo…

#MBZUAI wishes you and your loved ones a blessed Eid Al-Adha. #EidMubarak✨

تتمنى جامعة محمد بن زايد للذكاء الاصطناعي لكم ولأحبائكم عيد أضحى مبارك. كل عام وأنتم بخير!✨

Richard Morton, Vice President and Executive Director of the @IFM_MBZUAI, took the stage at the Abu Dhabi AI Native Summit 1.0 this week. Highlights from his talk include: 1. The UAE isn’t just deploying AI — it’s building frontier models from scratch. MBZUAI sits alongside leading global tech organizations capable of this. 2. Sovereignty is the overlooked variable. For governments embedding AI into core processes, open, transparent models aren’t a nice-to-have; they’re a must-do. K2 and JAIS are fully open-source and UAE-built for exactly this reason. 3. Agentic AI is happening now. End-to-end procurement, unified citizen services, executive workflows are all possible without human intervention. The challenge isn’t the technology; it’s knowing where to pilot it first. 4. And world models — simulating physical reality for robotics and autonomous systems — are the next big frontier, with MBZUAI among only three entities globally working at this level. Exciting things ahead for and from the UAE. 🇦🇪 For more info, visit: ifm.ai #K2Think

MBZUAI welcomes a new cohort to the Master of Applied Artificial Intelligence (MAAI) program through the Mohammed bin Rashid Government Scholarships. This UAE-first program will equip Emirati government professionals with advanced, practical AI skills to accelerate AI adoption across government entities and support the UAE Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031. From generative AI and applied deep learning to robotics, trustworthy AI, and smart city systems, the program combines academic excellence with real-world application, preparing graduates to lead AI transformation across the UAE public sector.

استقبلت جامعة محمد بن زايد للذكاء الاصطناعي دفعة جديدة في برنامج الماجستير في الذكاء الاصطناعي التطبيقي من خلال بعثات محمد بن راشد الحكومية. يُعد البرنامج الأول من نوعه في دولة الإمارات، ويهدف إلى تزويد الكوادر الحكومية الإماراتية بمهارات متقدمة في مجال الذكاء الاصطناعي، لتسريع تبنيه في الجهات الحكومية ودعم استراتيجية الإمارات للذكاء الاصطناعي 2031. يشمل البرنامج مجموعة من المحاور التخصصية مثل الذكاء الاصطناعي التوليدي والتعلم العميق، بالإضافة إلى الروبوتات والذكاء الاصطناعي الموثوق وأنظمة المدن الذكية. يجمع بين التميز الأكاديمي والتطبيق العملي، مما يهيئ خريجيه لقيادة التحول في استخدام الذكاء الاصطناعي في القطاع الحكومي بدولة الإمارات.

MBZUAI and the United Arab Emirates Government have signed a strategic collaboration agreement. As the Strategic Knowledge Partner, MBZUAI will support the UAE's national initiative to deploy agentic AI across 50% of government services, training 80,000 federal employees and delivering executive programs for government leaders, reinforcing the UAE's commitment to becoming a global leader in AI-enabled governance and public sector innovation. The collaboration will advance AI readiness, literacy, and executive capability building across UAE federal government entities and ministries, and driving the responsible adoption of generative and agentic AI technologies. In the presence of H.E. Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, and H.E. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary General of the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council and Chairman of MBZUAI’s Board of Trustees, the MOU was signed by H.E. Ohood Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and the Future and Chairwoman of Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR), and Prof. Eric Xing, MBZUAI President and University Professor.

وقعت جامعة محمد بن زايد للذكاء الاصطناعي وحكومة دولة الإمارات اتفاقية شراكة معرفية استراتيجية. وبصفتها الشريك المعرفي الاستراتيجي، ستدعم الجامعة المبادرة الوطنية الهادفة إلى توظيف الذكاء الاصطناعي المساعد في 50% من الخدمات الحكومية، وتدريب 80 ألف موظف اتحادي وتقديم برامج تنفيذية للقيادات الحكومية، وذلك تعزيزاً لالتزام الدولة بترسيخ ريادتها العالمية في مجال الحوكمة المدعومة بالذكاء الاصطناعي والابتكار في القطاع العام. وتهدف الشراكة إلى تعزيز الجاهزية الحكومية والثقافة في مجال الذكاء الاصطناعي، وبناء القدرات التنفيذية في الوزارات والجهات الحكومية الاتحادية، والتبني المسؤول لتكنولوجيا المستقبل. وتم توقيع مذكرة التفاهم بحضور معالي محمد عبد الله القرقاوي، وزير شؤون مجلس الوزراء ورئيس اللجنة التنفيذية لمشروع الذكاء الاصطناعي المساعد، ومعالي خلدون المبارك، الأمين العام لمجلس الذكاء الاصطناعي والتكنولوجيا المتقدمة ورئيس مجلس أمناء جامعة محمد بن زايد للذكاء الاصطناعي. ووقّعتها معالي عهود بنت خلفان الرومي، وزيرة دولة للتطوير الحكومي والمستقبل ورئيسة الهيئة الاتحادية للموارد البشرية الحكومية، والبروفيسور إريك زينغ، رئيس جامعة محمد بن زايد للذكاء الاصطناعي والبروفيسور الجامعي.

Professor Mladen Kolar has been named a Fellow of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics @InstMathStat. The IMS Fellowship recognizes exceptional research and professional achievements that contribute to the fields of statistics and probability. Kolar is Visiting Professor and Department Chair of Statistics and Data Science at MBZUAI and Professor of Data Science and Operations at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. His research focuses on developing statistical and machine learning models for scientific discovery from high-dimensional, noisy data. His work combines efficient optimization techniques with theoretically grounded methods to create models that not only predict but also reveal underlying data-generating mechanisms. His approach prioritizes interpretability, making it valuable across domains such as the life sciences and social sciences. Kolar was previously awarded the 2024 Junior Leo Breiman Award from the Statistical Learning and Data Science Section of the American Statistical Association (ASA). He currently serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Machine Learning Research, the Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics, the Journal of the American Statistical Association, and IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence. He also served the Annals of Statistics and the New England Journal of Statistics in Data Science. The IMS will honor Kolar and the other new Fellows at the Institute’s Annual Meeting, being held 6–9 July 2026 in Salzburg, Austria. For more information, visit the IMS website: imstat.org/2026/05/19/congra…

If you’re in Grades 10–12 and curious about where AI is heading, this is your sign to step up. The AI Youth Advisory Board is your chance to help shape how the UAE learns, uses, and builds AI. We’re looking for the thinkers, communicators, and future leaders ready to take their next step in AI. Know someone who fits the vibe? Nominate them before June 1 : mbzuai.ac.ae/ai-youth-adviso…

The future of agriculture will not be built by farming alone. It will be built through data, intelligence, and collaboration. 🌱🤖 Proud to launch Transforming Agriculture with AI, a new monthly dialogue series by the Institute of Agriculture and Artificial Intelligence (IAAI) in partnership with AGX AI. Bringing together researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders, the series will explore how AI can help tackle some of agriculture’s biggest challenges, from food security and climate resilience to empowering smallholder farmers across Africa, Asia, and beyond. Join us for the inaugural session on May 20, 2026 at 5:00 PM GST / 6:00 AM PDT. Register here: events.zoom.us/ev/AgD8Ni5gSJ…

Applications for the MBZUAI NEXTGEN Summer Program 2026 are now open. Designed for high-potential Grade 9–10 students across the UAE, NEXTGEN is a two-week immersive experience at the MBZUAI campus combining hands-on AI workshops and real-world challenges. Participants will explore AI applications and learn Python, machine learning fundamentals, and AI ethics alongside MBZUAI alumni and graduate students. What you’ll gain: • AI foundations • Practical coding experience • Critical thinking and problem-solving skills • Exposure to university-level AI learning 📅 6–17 July 2026 · Abu Dhabi 🎓 Open to UAE nationals and residents currently in Grade 9–10 📌 Limited to 60 students · Selection is application-based Apply here 👉 forms.cloud.microsoft/pages/… #MBZUAI #NEXTGEN #ArtificialIntelligence #UAEStudents #FutureLeaders #STEM #AI

What does it mean to build a country's AI capability from the ground up? Not as a consumer of technology, but as a contributor, innovator, and a leader - that is the ambition the UAE set out with, and it is one MBZUAI President and University Professor @ericxing addresses directly in a recent interview. The conversation goes further as he also challenges what a world model really is. Hint: it has nothing to do with video generation or gaming. His vision goes deeper - into what AI can do when you point it at the natural world. Two world models. One conversation. Listen here: youtube.com/watch?v=UAWBoMLL… podcasts.apple.com/ae/podcas…

We opened the doors of the first Mailis a year ago guided by the question: How does AI empower the people it's meant to serve? On the surface it may seem like a simple question; but we discovered through a year of conversations that the perspectives are textured and many. Five editions. Five sectors. Over 20 speakers from government, industry, academia, and the arts. Over 10 strategic partners. From education to gaming, entrepreneurship to art, and science to humanity, each edition of Mailis explored a different aspect of AI in our lives and our world, and the role we want to play in shaping it. A year of conversations shaped what comes next — and we’re taking our programming further. New sectors. Further collaborations. A wider reach. Same majlis spirit. #Mailis #AI #UAE #ArtificialIntelligence #NationalDevelopment #UAEVision