MBZUAI to welcome second cohort of students for Fall 2021 semester

ABU DHABI, August 22nd, 2021 — The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the graduate-level, research university focused on artificial intelligence (AI), welcomed its second cohort of students with the kickoff of the 2021 fall semester.

 A total of 74 students have joined the three programs offered, including 66 who will pursue master’s degrees and nine who will pursue PhDs courses. A total of 41 students have joined the University’s Computer Vision program, and a further 24 for Machine Learning. MBZUAI has also introduced Natural Language Processing (NLP) this year, with 9 students registered for the inaugural class.

The 2021 intake includes students from 29 nationalities, with 14 new countries represented for the first time in the MBZUAI cohort. Ten of these are UAE nationals, with other learners from the US, India, Italy, China, Kazakhstan and many more. Among the newly represented counties are the UK, France, Hungary, Mexico, Colombia, and others as the University’s reputation continues to soar. The University received a total of around 5,000 applications this year, highlighting the competitiveness of the admission process.

Women are well represented in MBZUAI’s second academic year, with 23 female candidates pursuing degrees.

MBZUAI had 71 students in its inaugural intake at the beginning of the year who pursued Computer Vision and Machine Learning.

The students were welcomed on August 15 by Professor Fakhreddine (Fakhri) Karray, the University’s new Provost, Reem Al Orfali, Director of Student Affairs and Faris Almalik, vice president of the Student Council.

The new cohort completed undergraduate and graduate degrees at some of the world’s leading universities, including renowned institutions like ‪Purdue University, University of Edinburgh, ‪University of Wisconsin – Madison, ‪Harbin Institute of Technology, ‪King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, and ‪Khalifa University in the UAE.

Professor Eric Xing, President of MBZUAI, said: “From the moment we welcomed our first students we aimed to welcome the world to Abu Dhabi to help advance AI and solve some of the world’s great challenges. Our second cohort reflects a diversity of skills and backgrounds that will enrich the development of the technology and help it reach full potential for the betterment of businesses, society, and economies here in the UAE and beyond.”

Over the past year MBZUAI has established numerous strategic partnerships for AI research and development with renowned organizations like Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA), Technology Innovation Institute (TII), Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), and the Weizmann Institute of Science.

MBZUAI students will attend live classes at the university’s purpose-built, high-tech, campus situated within Masdar City, with smart classrooms and advanced computing labs as well as a specialized AI knowledge center, and modern gym and recreational facilities.