December 2, 2020 by Dean Hoke. The International Association of Universities’ in collaboration with UNESCO publishes the World Higher Education Database (WHED), which has been a reference tool for higher education since 1950, stated there are over 19,800 officially accredited or recognized higher education institutions (HEIs) in 196 countries and territories. Educators are knowledgeable about higher education institutions and systems in their home nation, but not necessarily institutions in other countries.
The Edu Alliance Journal, to help expand our readers’ knowledge of other international institutions, is publishing a series of profiles of universities’ throughout the world. We will select a wide variety of institutions, which we hope will lead to new international collaborations. If you have suggestions for institutions you would like us to publish a profile, please state in the comments section which school and why or write to dean.hoke@edualliancegroup.com
The Journal will begin the series with a profile of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence located in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Name of Institution – Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence
Location – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Founded – October 2019
Website – https://mbzuai.ac.ae
President – Dr. Eric Xing (Announced as President Nov. 29, 2020)
Provost – Professor Ling Shao
International Students – MBZUAI accepts applicants from all nationalities. All students are required to have degrees from STEM fields
Degrees – MBZUAI offers, beginning 2021, three Master’s and three Ph.D. programs, all with an AI specialization. They are: Computer Vision, Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing (all three are offered as MSc and PhD
Scholarships – All students admitted on a full-time basis are granted upon acceptance the privilege to complete their study with a full scholarship, including 100% tuition, a monthly stipend, and many more benefits. They are expected to maintain high academic standing, comply with the university code of conduct, and fulfill certain requirements during their study tenure.
Student Population – The first class begins in 2021. Last September, MBZUAI extended admission offers to 101 graduate students selected from more than 2,200 applicants in 31 countries. Of the first class of 101 graduate students, 21 are Emirati students, including seven women. 13 percent from other parts of the Middle East, 38 percent from Asia, 21 percent from Africa, and nearly ten percent from the Americas and Europe. Overall the initial class has 30 percent female and 70 percent male.
Partnerships and Collaborations – The University states, “MBZUAI believes that partnerships are necessary to enable it to perform its various activities with excellence. Partnerships could be academic, focusing on education and research, or they could be operational, focusing on the support functions that are necessary for operating the University.” Types of Partnerships are:
Academic Partners, such as local institutions, international institutions, virtual learning platforms, think tanks
Industry Partners, collaborating on research projects, development of new technologies, and lab setup.
Operations Partners, such as service providers, marketing agencies, and outsourcing companies
Did You Know – the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence is the world’s first graduate-level, research-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) University. Since the Abraham Accords were signed in September 2020, the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, signed an agreement to create a joint institute for artificial intelligence.
Edu Alliance Group, Inc. (EAG) is an education consulting firm located in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, and Bloomington, Indiana, USA. We assist higher education institutions worldwide on a variety of mission-critical projects. Our consultants are accomplished university/college leaders who share the benefit of their experience to diagnose and solve challenges.
EAG has provided consulting and successful solutions for higher education institutions in Australia, Egypt, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, and the United States. Edu Alliance offers higher education institutions consulting services worldwide. Our US office specializes in assisting universities on international projects and partnerships.
If you like to know more about how Edu Alliance can best serve you, please contact Dean Hoke at dean.hoke@edualliancegroup.com
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