MBZUAI, MIT launch joint AI research programme
Transcontinental research programme addresses societal challenges
#UAE #research – Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the world’s first graduate AI research university, and the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing have launched the MIT–MBZUAI Collaborative Research Programme to advance fundamental AI research and accelerate its application to scientific and societal challenges. The collaboration brings together faculty, students and research staff from both institutions to conduct joint research projects in three core areas: scientific discovery, human thriving, and planetary health. Each project will be jointly led by principal investigators from MBZUAI and MIT, with Le Song, Professor of Machine Learning at MBZUAI, and Philip Isola, Class of 1948 Career Development Professor in the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, serving as academic directors.
SO WHAT? – The collaboration aims to create transcontinental research bridge between two leading AI institutions. The initiative matches MBZUAI’s strengths in foundation models and real-world deployment, with MIT’s depth in computing and interdisciplinary innovation. The collaboration also adds further weight to the UAE’s goal of becoming a global hub for high-impact AI research whilst advancing responsible AI development.
Here are the key details of this joint announcement:
Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) and the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing have launched the MIT–MBZUAI Collaborative Research Programme to advance fundamental AI research and accelerate its application to scientific and societal challenges.
Research priorities include digital health applications, intelligent robotics systems, and efficient computing architectures.
The programme aims to advance high-impact research that strengthens the technological foundations of AI, with particular focus on developing multi-scale biological foundation models of the human body to accelerate healthcare innovation whilst reducing costly laboratory work and data generation.
The collaboration aligns with the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing’s goals of advancing computing across disciplines, and addressing the social and ethical responsibilities of computing in shaping global impact.
The new programme also supports the UAE’s mission to become a global innovation hub for inclusive and high-impact AI, leveraging MBZUAI’s fast-growing influence in the global AI research community.
MIT Schwarzman College of Computing brings expertise in responsible and globally impactful AI development, aligning with MBZUAI’s commitment to responsible AI, applying it where AI delivers greatest benefit to society.
Faculty and research staff from both institutions will work jointly on projects designed to push the boundaries of AI science.
ZOOM OUT – MBZUAI has continued to expand its global research footprint throughout 2025, establishing partnerships with leading institutions across continents. In May, the university launched its Institute of Foundation Models with facilities in Silicon Valley, Paris and Abu Dhabi, connecting with California’s AI ecosystem. This year, the university has deepened collaboration with France’s École Polytechnique on large language models (LLMs) and AI safety, hosted a joint workshop with UC Berkeley on machine learning, and joined The Aspen Institute’s Technology Leaders Initiative, alongside Oxford’s Institute for Ethics in AI. MBZUAI is endeavouring to become the “Stanford of the Middle East”, creating an AI ecosystem that advances AI globally, and provides a foundation for AI’s economic contribution in the UAE and across the wider region.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
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