The first batch of students to enrol at Abu Dhabi's artificial intelligence university graduated on Monday amid a surge of interest in the subject.
Nearly two thirds of the students are going into employment, PhD placements, paid internships or start-up businesses — and of those, 91 per cent plan to remain in the UAE, the university said.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and chairman of the board of trustees of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, urged graduates to embrace the moment, with AI at the intersection of so many issues.
“Remember, progress is driven by curiosity, constructive dialogue, connectivity, hard work, patience — and impatience. So, get out there and be impatient and impactful for the betterment of humanity," he told an audience of graduates and dignitaries, including Sheikh Theyab bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Progress is driven by curiosity, constructive dialogue, connectivity, hard work, patience – and impatience. So, get out there and be impatient, and impactful, for the betterment of humanity
Dr Sultan Al Jaber
A total of 52 students graduated from MBZUAI — 20 with a master's in computer vision, a strand of AI that trains computers to understand the visual world — and 32 in machine learning, the popular field that trains computers to mimic human intelligence.
The university's first class, a third of whom are women, come from 24 different countries, with the UAE comprising the largest proportion, followed by India, Jordan, Kazakhstan and Morocco.
Dr Al Jaber, who is also the president-designate for Cop28, the climate conference set to be hosted in the UAE later this year, emphasised that "we are on the verge of a technological revolution".
"As you step out of the classroom, you're stepping into a very special year," he said. "We know the stakes could not be higher.
"I have no doubt that you, the first graduating class of MBZUAI, hold some of the keys to the transformational breakthroughs that we all need in the world today."
He said Cop28 would be the first to officially include a Youth Climate Champion, with the appointment Shamma Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth.
"We did this because we want to empower the voices, the passion, the positivity and the desire for progress that young people bring to the table," Dr Al Jaber said.
"These qualities, combined with your abilities, are a powerful combination, and I have no doubt that our collective future will be brighter as result.”
Valedictorian Shahd Al Shamsi, an Emirati with a background in industrial engineering, echoed Dr Al Jaber's message of urgency in her own speech to her class.
"We stand at the cusp of new innovations and entirely new ways of doing things. But it is up to us to drive what we want. We cannot wait," she said.
Most of the graduates plan to continue to call the UAE home, a signal that the country's economic diversification plans to develop in-country talent and intellectual property are bearing fruit.
One graduate is returning to a job at oil company Adnoc and another has accepted an offer from G42 Healthcare.
Many more are weighing up their own start-up ideas, areas of research, or continuing their studies by pursuing doctorates at the university.
A core tenet of the university is to closely link academic research to commercial applications. The graduates held internships at Dubai conglomerate Emaar Properies, Abu Dhabi AI firm G42 and logistics company DP World, among others.
With more than 100 graduate degree programmes in AI globally, development of the technology centres largely in North America, China and the UK.
MBZUAI has a prime opportunity to be a regional leader in the field of AI, as the only graduate-level university in the world singularly developing AI tools.
"This is the right topic at the right time," MBZUAI president Eric Xing told the graduates. He emphasised the historic significance of the inaugural class and said the ambition was for the university to serve the region for generations to come.
MBZUAI last year went from being unranked to making the top-25 AI research institutions, according to Computer Science Ranking.
"We want our name to be alongside MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Cambridge," Prof Xing has often said, a message he reiterated at the graduation.
In the audience was Bruno Le Maire, French Minister for Economy and Finance, who looked ahead to future collaboration in technology.
France and the Emirates will "find ways to leverage technology for the betterment of our countries".
"Artificial intelligence is a key technology on which France and the UAE will collaborate in the coming decade," Mr Le Maire said.
MBZUAI published more than 350 papers last year and the faculty body also grew significantly, with the addition of 21 new members, to stand at 49 with a student-to-faculty ratio of 7:1.
The school's motto is "power from knowledge to serve".
Company%20Profile
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
Race card:
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m.
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m.
8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m.
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m.
9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m.
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
Saturday's results
West Ham 2-3 Tottenham
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton
Bournemouth 1-2 Wolves
Brighton 0-2 Leicester City
Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
Everton 0-2 Norwich City
Watford 0-3 Burnley
Manchester City v Chelsea, 9.30pm
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
