Two Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) Executive Programme (MEP) teams presented their winning AI sustainability solutions at last night’s graduation ceremony for the programme’s second and third cohorts held at the university’s Masdar City campus.
This year’s graduation witnessed 83 of the UAE’s top CEOs, director generals, and executive directors. Graduates spent 12 weeks with globally renowned instructors from UC Berkeley, Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, Oxford, and MBZUAI, learning about the rapidly evolving AI landscape and developing real world solutions they are now implementing in their organisations. Also among the graduates were two sponsored seats for NGO participants to ensure AI awareness and growth in the charitable and not-for-profit sectors.
Eighty-three graduates from the MBZUAI Executive Programme champion solutions in areas such as sustainability and fostering a national community of AI leaders
The culmination of the programme is a set of capstone projects where participants applied their learnings to deliver genuine impact in critical areas such as health, security, logistics, environment, education, finance, and energy. The graduates developed 14 collaborative projects focused on real-world national and global challenges. For example, in line with the UAE’s designation of 2023 as the Year of Sustainability, the programme empowered participants to tackle challenges related to climate change by equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge to develop AI-enabled solutions in the run up to COP28 UAE.
“Congratulations to our 83 participants, who successfully completed your learning with MBZUAI. The University is privileged to train leaders from both public and private sectors to advance the UAE’s national agenda in artificial intelligence and digital transformation,” said MBZUAI President and University Professor Eric Xing. “By bringing in international luminaries of AI to Abu Dhabi, the programme delivers a completely unique AI learning experience. With the knowledge and skills gained from the programme, I trust you will go on to drive social transformation and economic growth through innovative AI solutions in your respective organizations.”
The winning capstone projects – X-4 Cast from the second cohort of MEP participants and Pulse from the third group – both promise to deliver significant environmental benefits. X-4 Cast harnesses AI and machine learning deployment to improve the accuracy of weather forecasting, increasing the lead time for better crisis preparedness, and lower infrastructure costs in weather predictions. Pulse is an AI-based technology platform aimed at increasing the inclusivity of climate change issues in the run-up to COP28 UAE, by listening to and recording the insights of groups who are most threatened, including indigenous communities, farmers, youth, and people of determination.
The winning capstone projects both promise to deliver significant environmental benefits
Other solutions proposed during the course included a platform to prevent and mitigate fraud online through collaboration and awareness generation; an AI-driven solution to carry out early detection of major cancers; a simulation platform that uses machine learning and analytics to create alerts around supply chain disruption; and a smart energy management portal to alleviate pressure on the UAE utilities grid.