Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has signed a multi-year collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The partnership focuses on advancing artificial intelligence research, expanding skills development, and supporting startup growth in the UAE and across the region.
The collaboration builds on MBZUAI’s objective to connect academic research with practical use in industry. It also supports the UAE National Strategy for Higher Education 2030, particularly the Expanded Professional Experience initiative. This initiative promotes hands-on learning through industry engagement, applied research, and campus-based projects.
A key element of the agreement is the creation of a Strategic Research Program in agreed AI priority areas. AWS and MBZUAI will jointly oversee the programme. AWS will supply cloud services, technical guidance, and access to relevant AWS programmes to support research activity. It will also host a registry of public datasets on its platform. MBZUAI will provide research staff, faculty leadership, and laboratory facilities. The programme is designed to convert research outputs into real-world solutions with clear impact.
Timothy Baldwin, Provost and Professor of Natural Language Processing, MBZUAI, said: “This collaboration brings together academic depth and industrial scale. By combining MBZUAI’s scientific expertise with AWS’s mentorship, infrastructure, and guidance on relevant AWS programs that will support MBZUAI’s research, we are building a bridge between research and real-world impact and unlocking transformational opportunities for our faculty, researchers and students. Together we are growing an innovation ecosystem that is human-centered, inclusive, and ready to shape the future.”
The partnership also enables the launch of GenAI Academy, an initiative aimed at undergraduate students. The programme will host hackathons that address challenges in public services, business creation, and social development. Alongside this, AWS will offer training through AWS Classroom Training and AWS Skill Builder. These courses will support skill development in cloud technology, AI, and machine learning.
Chris Erasmus, General Manager, UAE, Rest of Middle East and North Africa at AWS, commented: “At AWS, we’re proud to collaborate with MBZUAI in empowering the next generation of innovators in the UAE. 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. Through our shared commitment, we look forward to advancing technology and creating lasting impact in the region.”
MBZUAI’s Incubation and Entrepreneurship Center will also benefit from the collaboration. Startups associated with the centre that participate in the AWS Activate programme may gain access to AWS credits, technical resources, and business guidance.
This partnership further positions MBZUAI as a key contributor to applied AI in the UAE. By aligning research, education, and industry engagement, the university supports national priorities in digital transformation and long-term innovation.
