UAE's AI university welcomes largest batch of students

The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi has welcomed its largest and most diverse class since its establishment in 2019.

MBZUAI is the world's first graduate-level AI university dedicated to research.

Its latest batch includes 142 students who were selected from a pool of more than 4,000 applicants.

The new students represent 34 countries, with 95 studying for master's degrees and 47 pursuing Ph.D. degrees in computer vision (CV), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP).

Twenty-two students come from the top 100 universities based on internationally recognised rankings such as CSRankings, QS World University Rankings, Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and the US News & World Report Best Colleges Ranking.

Additionally, MBZUAI expanded its international reach by welcoming students from countries including Armenia, Bulgaria, Dominica, Libya, Serbia, and Uruguay.

This latest batch has doubled the university’s student body count, reaching close to 300.

#MBZUAI welcomes its most diverse cohort, featuring 142 students representing 34 countries! It doubles our student body - now close to 300 strong - who are studying the disciplines of CV, ML, and NLP. Learn more: https://t.co/KkIQSVbqO4 pic.twitter.com/AbiL9XEENi

— MBZUAI (@mbzuai) August 15, 2023

A key factor attracting international students to MBZUAI is the university’s reputation for diversity and inclusion, complemented by its CSRankings, where it ranks among the world's top 20 universities in AI, CV, ML, and NLP.

In July, MBZUAI established two new departments and four associated graduate programmes dedicated to robotics and computer science to meet surging global demand for the two disciplines, with market sizes for each expected to hit $225 billion and $140 billion, respectively, by 2030.

"The university is dedicated to harnessing the power of technology to address real-world challenges, and this diverse cohort of students is crucial to contribute to the advancement of AI and its positive impact on society and industry," said MBZUAI’s Acting Provost, Professor Timothy Baldwin.

"We are fostering the next generation of leaders in this transformative field and will proudly see them deliver an AI-centric positive impact on the world in healthcare, climate, and education, among other areas," he added.