Today's Edition
RABI HAMAMSAH (ABU DHABI)
Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi has been a pioneering institution in the world of artificial intelligence (AI), offering postgraduate opportunities to support the research and development process in this cutting-edge field.
In an exclusive interview with Aletihad, four Emirati postgraduate students from MBZUAI spoke about their studies, achievements, scientific projects, and future aspirations revolving around AI as a discipline and as an apparatus for the future.
A ‘Pose Detection’ Pioneer
Shamma Alsaedi is currently undertaking a Master’s degree in Computer Vision, an area which involves studying and developing ways for computers to process and analyse digital images. Within the discipline, Alsaedi studies pose detection for physiotherapy, which enables machines to detect human figures and understand their body positions in videos and images.
Prior to joining the university, Alsaedi used her computer science background to work in user experience (UX) design, and worked on developing two applications. However, she decided to shift her focus from solely scientific research to creating real-world solutions.
“I wanted to utilise my background as a user experience designer to create solutions that use and depend on AI that are human-centred, which solve problems. This is why I joined MBZUAI, to find solutions that will make this world a better place in terms of being more accessible to more people,” Alsaedi added.
Alsaedi shared that her aim is to develop a start-up by utilising what she has studied to create a real-world impact. “This has been my whole focus during all those years, to improve the way I conduct scientific research that leads to tangible results and solutions. Therefore, rather than focusing on publishing a research paper, I focused on creating a start-up to reflect what I learn in reality,” Alsaedi told Aletihad.
She noted that the UAE is “positioning itself as a global hub for AI, and by this, the UAE is encouraging our students to focus more on to be more courageous, to find more solutions.
“I believe that when we understand AI better, we can remove any ambiguity around it. And when we remove that ambiguity, we can create better rules, and regulate the AI, and improve the applications of AI,” she said.
Educating an AI-aware Generation
In undertaking a Master’s in Machine Learning, Ahmed Alwheibi is chasing his dream to apply what he learns to deliver advanced, AI-integrated applications in the medical, environmental, and educational fields.
His previous electrical engineering focused shifted to AI development during the COVID-19 pandemic, Alwheibi undertook a project analysing the effectiveness of vaccinations on new COVID-19 cases.
“It was the first time for me to use the machine learning tools. It was magnificent, I had never used it before. But when I saw the results, I saw the potential of what I can do. Depending on the historical data of COVID-19, I could predict the effectiveness of the vaccination, and how it could help the new cases,” Alwheibi told Aletihad.
Past projects for Alwheibi have revolved around using AI to predict the quantity of solar energy gathered by solar panels based on a variety of environmental factors, such as temperature, as well as applications dealing with biometric identification and authentication based on movements.
Alwheibi noted that the UAE is actively encouraging young Emirati students to be part of the AI revolution.
“AI is an upcoming revolution, similar to smartphones, similar to the Internet. For example, right now, nobody could live without a smartphone, and in the very near future, AI will be the same,” he commented.
“Therefore, the UAE established MBZUAI to generate a generation aware of AI and ready to adapt and benefit our country and people,” Alwheibi added.
The Future of Research
Undertaking the challenge of 3D image generation and modelling, student Leena Binkuwair is working to utilise AI to develop the future of research.
“Every research project we work on at MBUZAI will lead to new results that can help in finding solutions for the problems that we face. Whenever we are doing research, we are trying to develop new approaches and get higher accuracy, get faster performance.”
“Whenever we are finding new methodologies, we try to adopt them and make them ideas for all to be inspired,” she added.
Binkuwair said that establishing MBUZAI is an example on the UAE’s keenness to develop Emirati students’ skills and enrich their knowledge in AI. She also commented on MBZUAI’s entrepreneurship programme, which helps students transform their theses into startups.
“The UAE is a leading country in AI, as we have the first AI ministry of its kind, maybe in the world. In addition, we have the world’s first AI university (MBZUAI), which is exclusively focusing on AI,” she noted.
Enhancing Autonomous Vehicles
Studying a master’s in machine learning is just the start for Fatima Alkhoori, whose passion for transportation engineering and sustainability led her to research SIFT-based patch embedding in vision transformer for traffic sign recognition.
Alkhoori explained that she is currently working to improve the accuracy of autonomous vehicles using machine learning. “I am combining my passion for transportation and the skills I’ve gained at MBZUAI.”
Citing her thesis outcomes as one of her proudest achievements, Alkhoori noted that she wanted to undertake a project that would benefit and enrich the UAE’s research databases.
“Although we have public accessibility to various machine learning databases, I made sure that I aligned with local stakeholders within Abu Dhabi, such as the Integrated Transport Centre, who were very cooperative with me, and supported me with the traffic images of Abu Dhabi which we used to do modelling, testing, and processing,” she said.
Alkhoori noted the encouragement of the UAE government, stating: “We are very blessed with our wise leadership, and we are actually proactive when it comes to investing in research and education. I am an example of being blessed by this opportunity to pursue my studies at MBZUAI, where we’ve been provided with all support needed for us to succeed in this field,” Alkhoori said.
Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council
Recently, President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan issued a law establishing the Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technology Council (AIATC), which will be responsible for developing and implementing policies and strategies related to research, infrastructure and investments in artificial intelligence and advanced technology in Abu Dhabi.
Commenting on the formation of the council in a statement to Aletihad, MBZUAI’s Vice President of Public Affairs and Alumni Relations, Sultan Al Hajji said: “We look forward to supporting AIATC as it develops and implements policies and strategies to promote AI and advanced technology for good.”
