/WAM/ Mohamed Bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence, during the current year 2023, continues to implement its advanced initiatives and innovative projects that reflect its important and supportive role to the global scientific research community.
This year, we witnessed a positive impact of generative artificial intelligence in the industrial sector. The university has enhanced its role in building industrial capabilities by working on large-scale practical projects in collaboration with prestigious global partners.
These projects included the development of advanced linguistic models and innovative software infrastructures, such as the “Jais” model, which is the most advanced linguistic model in the Arab world, in partnership with “Cerebras Systems” and “Core 42,” headquartered in Abu Dhabi and a subsidiary of “G 42” group.
A team of researchers from the University of California San Diego, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford University, and University Mohamed Bin Zayed for Artificial Intelligence developed a large and sustainable linguistic model named “Vicona” which was launched this year.
The university recently unveiled “Jais for Climate” at the COP28 conference held in Dubai. “Jais for Climate” is the first large bilingual linguistic model dedicated to climate in the world, developed in collaboration with “Core 42.”
Additionally, the university collaborated with “Bitum” and “Cerebras Systems” to launch an open-source linguistic models platform “LLM360,” aiming to enhance transparency, trust, and research collaboration.
With the establishment of the Foundational Models Institute alongside the Metaverse Center, the university strengthens its leading position in developing generative artificial intelligence.
Considering health as one of its three main pillars, Mohamed Bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence has become a significant force in the field of digital healthcare. The university partnered with some of the most active and innovative startups globally in terms of common ownership rights, signing agreements this year with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Pure Health, Cures.AI, Infinite Brain Technologies, and the Emirates Health Services Foundation.
Through its focus on research and success in attracting some of the brightest minds globally, Mohamed Bin Zayed University has advanced in the field of artificial intelligence. It was included in the “CSRankings” institution ranking for 2022, reaching 18th globally in artificial intelligence, computer vision, machine learning, and natural language processing fields, according to the updated rankings for 2023.
In 2023, the university’s faculty members increased to 64. It is worth mentioning that more than half of these members joined after working in the top 100 global institutions specializing in artificial intelligence.
The university organized student graduation events in January 2022 and June 2023, where 111 students graduated and obtained Master’s degrees in computer science, machine learning, and natural language processing.
The percentage of graduates who remained in the local market in the field of artificial intelligence was 86%, reflecting the university’s role in developing and training talents to enhance the economy of the United Arab Emirates.
The university’s student population exceeded 276 students from over 40 nationalities, with the majorityThese students are going to prestigious international universities. Emirati students make up about 19 percent of the total students, while females represent around 39 percent of students, a much higher percentage compared to other institutions specialized in computer science around the world. In 2023, the Mohammed bin Zayed University launched two new departments specialized in robotics and computer science, in addition to establishing a center for business incubation and entrepreneurship. This is aimed at developing artificial intelligence in the UAE and contributing to global advancements in innovation and advanced research based on artificial intelligence. This year, the university achieved a milestone by obtaining its first patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, titled “Handwriting transformers.” During this year, the research team at the Mohammed bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence submitted over 537 research papers, in addition to launching eight funded projects for research collaboration. The year 2023 witnessed many significant events for the university. Among these events were the presentation of faculty members and students of 30 research papers at the International Computer Vision Conference held in Paris in October, 44 research papers at the Experimental Methods in Natural Language Processing Conference held in Singapore in December, and 53 research papers at the thirty-seventh Neural Information Processing Systems Conference held in New Orleans in December. The university held a graduation ceremony for two classes from the Executive Program at the Mohammed bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence, which contributes to equipping 125 executive managers with the necessary skills to benefit from artificial intelligence in the industrial sector in the UAE. The university actively contributed to the success of the COP28 conference in Dubai, through participation in a series of activities organized by the Ministry of Education at the Green Education Center. This aims to enhance the role that artificial intelligence can play in achieving climate change mitigation goals and emphasize the importance of integrating artificial intelligence technology into curricula. Professor Eric Zing, President of the Mohammed bin Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence, praised the university’s progress in enhancing diversity among its faculty members and alumni community in 2023. He emphasized that the university has developed numerous intellectual resources and attracted a large pool of talents, enabling it to play a leading role in research and development in the field of generative artificial intelligence. Professor Eric Zing added: “We continue our efforts in training the next generations of experts in the field of artificial intelligence who will contribute to elevating knowledge and excellence in this important field for improving the future of humanity. We are proud of the significant achievements made during our mere four-year tenure and look forward to achieving more in the coming years.”
