Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has signed a multi-year collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to support AI research, skills development, and startup growth in the UAE and the wider region.
The collaboration aims to strengthen links between academic research and industry application. It aligns with the UAE’s National Strategy for Higher Education 2030.
It also supports the Expanded Professional Experience initiative. The initiative focuses on increasing student exposure to practical, real-world environments through applied projects and training.
Under the agreement, MBZUAI and AWS will establish a Strategic Research Program. The programme will focus on jointly agreed AI priority areas.
AWS will provide cloud infrastructure and technical mentorship. It will also offer access to relevant AWS programmes and a registry of public datasets hosted on AWS.
MBZUAI will contribute faculty expertise, research talent, and laboratory facilities. Both parties will work to translate research outputs into applied solutions with practical relevance.
Timothy Baldwin, Provost and Professor of Natural Language Processing at MBZUAI, said:
“By combining MBZUAI’s scientific expertise with AWS’s infrastructure and mentorship, this collaboration strengthens the connection between research and real-world application, creating opportunities for faculty, researchers, and students.”
The collaboration also supports the launch of the GenAI Academy, which will organise hackathons for MBZUAI undergraduate students addressing challenges in government, entrepreneurship, and social impact.
AWS will additionally provide training resources, including instructor-led courses and self-paced learning through AWS Skill Builder, to develop capabilities in cloud computing, AI, and machine learning.
Chris Erasmus, General Manager, UAE, Rest of Middle East and North Africa at AWS, commented:
“Blending our cloud technologies and expertise with MBZUAI’s visionary academic and research capabilities, we’re establishing a foundation of technical excellence to support the students and researchers of today and tomorrow.”
MBZUAI’s Incubation and Entrepreneurship Center will also participate, with eligible startups gaining access to AWS Activate benefits such as cloud credits, technical support, and business mentorship.
Featured image credit: MBZUAI
