MBZUAI Launches “WAI” Community Initiative to build AI Awareness across Generations

MBZUAI has launched WAI, a community initiative designed to equip youth and senior citizens with a foundational understanding of artificial intelligence and its practical applications in everyday life. The program connects generations through a shared learning experience that explores how AI can empower individuals and communities.

The initiative’s first edition was supported by several collaborative organizations, including Abu Dhabi Youth Council, and Rabdan Volunteer Team, whose involvement helped ensure the program reach a diverse cross-section of participants across the UAE. The inaugural event, hosted at MBZUAI’s campus, convened more than 30 youth participants and over 15 senior citizen participants for a day of learning, interaction, and discussion around AI’s role in modern life.

WAI offers a series of interactive sessions that make AI approachable and easy to understand. For youth participants, the programme introduces key AI concepts and simple, practical tools, and include a guided hands-on activity in prompt engineering. The sessions are designed to spark curiosity and creativity, showing participants how AI can enhance productivity and drive innovation in their personal and professional lives.

For senior citizens, the sessions provided an engaging and accessible introduction to artificial intelligence and its practical applications. Participants explored key AI concepts through relevant examples, learned to navigate beginner-friendly tools, and took part in an interactive prompt-engineering activity. The engagement concluded with a discussion and Q&A, encouraging participants to reflect on their experience.

All participants received certificates of completion in recognition of their engagement and learning.

“This initiative is rooted in the belief that AI should not remain confined to classrooms and technical fields but be understood and embraced by everyone,” said Rawdha Almeraikhi, Director of Outreach at MBZUAI. “Through WAI, we aim to bridge generations by empowering the youth to lead with curiosity and ensuring that our elders also remain connected in an increasingly digital world. It is an initiative about awareness, confidence, and shared progress, values that lie at the heart of our university and national identity.”

Aligned with the UAE’s Year of Community 2025, WAI reinforces national efforts to create inclusive spaces that foster connection and shared learning. By extending AI learning beyond its academic settings, MBZUAI continues to advance its mission of creating a society that is not only technologically capable but also confident, inclusive, and inspired to shape the UAE’s AI-driven future.