The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the world’s first artificial intelligence (AI) university, has appointed renowned AI academic Professor Dr Eric Xing as president.
Xing will lead MBZUAI as the first intake of graduate students is set to commence studies in January.
Xing takes the reins from interim president Professor Sir Michael Brady, who remains on the MBZUAI board of trustees.
Ranked as one of the top computer science professors worldwide, Xing joins MBZUAI from Carnegie Mellon University in the US while he has also spent time as visiting Associate Professor at Stanford University, and as visiting Research Professor at Facebook.
He has authored or contributed to more than 370 cited research papers and reports and his research has been cited more than 35,000 times by leading academics and academic journals.
Xing is also the founder, chairman and chief scientist of Petuum, a US-based start-up that builds standardised AI development platforms and operating systems for broad and general industrial AI applications. Under his leadership, Petuum has raised over $120 million funding since 2016.
Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and chairman of the MBZUAI board of trustees, said: “He is one of the world’s foremost academics in the field of AI, and an exceptional business leader who understands the practical application of artificial intelligence.
“Under the guidance of Professor Dr Eric Xing, MBZUAI will accelerate these efforts through the development of human capital and a strong focus on research and partnerships, leading to economic and societal progress in the UAE and beyond.”
Xing added: “Through MBZUAI’s commitment to seeking new heights of excellence in AI education and research, we can contribute to achieving the ambitions of the UAE to use technology as a form of national empowerment, while also contributing to the greater good of global society.
“We are determined to make the UAE a hub for the international AI community. MBZUAI welcomes leading researchers and innovators in all areas of AI from across the world who seek to be part of a dynamic, diverse, and meritocratic institution that provides unparalleled resources, environment, and boundless opportunities for personal growth and societal impact.”
Since launching in October 2019, MBZUAI has completed its campus in Masdar City.
The university recently extended admission offers to 101 students for the first academic year commencing in January 2021, with nearly 90 percent of the admitted students having already accepted their offers.
Students accepted into the first cohort were selected from a group of 2,223 applicants of 97 different nationalities. Admitted students come from 31 countries.
MBZUAI’s MSc and PhD programmes in Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing, and Machine Learning are now accepting applications for the Autumn 2021 academic year intake.
© Arabian Business
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