MBZUAI student-led startup okkslides, incubated within the University’s Incubation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC), is developing an AI-native presentation tool. Founded by Lan Wei, a computer science Ph.D. candidate, and Steve Liu, a professor at MBZUAI, okkslides aims to transform messy inputs into executive-grade narratives. The platform focuses on augmenting human reasoning with AI to capture brand nuance and support iterative, human-led collaboration in presentation creation. Why it matters: This highlights the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at MBZUAI and the potential for AI to improve professional workflows in the region.
MBZUAI's executive programs (MEP and MEP-A) have trained nearly 240 senior leaders from the UAE's public and private sectors to implement AI solutions. Cohort six of the MEP begins in April, while the MEP-A will commence later in the year. The programs, taught by instructors from MBZUAI, UC Berkeley, Oxford, Harvard, and MIT, cover AI fundamentals, industry applications, strategy, policymaking, and ethics. Why it matters: These programs aim to empower leaders to contribute to the UAE's growing AI ecosystem and promote ethically-rooted innovation, aligning with the UAE's national AI strategy.
MBZUAI launched its Executive Program, a hybrid course for government and industry leaders to promote greater engagement with AI. The program's first session, led by MBZUAI President Eric Xing, covered the history and future of AI and machine learning. It aims to accelerate AI development across various sectors in the UAE, focusing on efficiency, cost savings, and environmental impact reduction. Why it matters: This initiative signals the UAE's commitment to fostering AI literacy and driving AI adoption across key sectors, aligning with national economic development plans.
MBZUAI researchers demonstrated a low-latency, multilingual multimodal AI system at GITEX that integrates speech, text, and visual capabilities for more lifelike human-machine conversation. The demo, led by Dr. Hisham Cholakkal, includes a mobile app where users can point their camera at an object and ask questions, receiving spoken answers in multiple languages. They are also integrating the model into a robot dog that can respond to voice commands. Why it matters: This work addresses key challenges in deploying LLMs to real-world applications in the Middle East, such as multilingual support and real-time responsiveness.
Researchers at MBZUAI have developed Auto-DUB, a system using deep learning, NLP, and CV to improve audio-visual dubbing, particularly for educational videos. The three-step process generates subtitles, creates an audio representation, and synchronizes the audio with lip movements. The system aims to overcome language barriers in e-learning by providing accurate translations and lip-synced audio. Why it matters: This research addresses a critical need in online education by making content more accessible to non-native English speakers, potentially expanding access to global educational resources in the Arab world.