Abu Dhabi: Emirates News Agency (WAM) has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), with the aim of enhancing joint cooperation between the two sides in the media and artificial intelligence sectors through exchange of knowledge, experiences and training.
The agreement was signed by Mohammed Jalal Al Rayssi, director-general of WAM, and Sultan Al Hajji, vice-president for Public Affairs and Alumni Relations at MBZUAI, at WAM’s headquarters in Abu Dhabi.
The partnership agreement stipulates that MBZUAI will be the strategic academic sponsor of the Global Media Congress, which is organised by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company — ADNEC, in partnership with WAM, at ADNEC Centre from November 15-17, 2022. The university will also allocate a number of seats in its executive programme for WAM employees, with the aim of supporting the agency’s efforts to benefit from the positive impact of AI and enhance its effectiveness and productivity.
In addition, MBZUAI will provide its advisory services to WAM within the framework of establishing an AI laboratory. Through the laboratory, WAM will develop and harness AI applications to support innovation in the media field.
Al Rayssi highlighted the importance of the strategic partnership with MBZUAI, pointing out that AI has become an essential pillar for sustainable growth across all sectors, adding that this cooperation will contribute to launching promising programmes in service of joint cooperation between the two sides.
“This agreement contributes greatly to the development of the media sector in the country, as MBZUAI ‘s sponsorship of the Global Media Congress, which is organised by ADNEC, in partnership with the Emirates News Agency, highlights the pivotal role played by the university in the future vision of the media sector in the UAE, in addition to spreading knowledge and providing promising opportunities for young people,” he said.
Professor Eric Xing, President of MBZUAI, commented: “Artificial intelligence will contribute to the advent of a qualitative leap across various sectors, including media, as the applications of computer vision and natural language processing will represent the main driver of this development — the two main areas of research at the university. We are proud of our partnership with the Emirates News Agency. Through this partnership, we will work to provide our scientific expertise, as we look forward to supporting the Agency’s efforts during the events of the Global Media Congress.”
The Global Media Congress, whose first edition revolves around digital communication, aims to enhance interdependence between various parties in the global media sector, through a qualitative platform that contributes to providing a forum that brings together different cultures and international companies operating in the media sector.
In his statement to WAM, Sultan Al Hajji, vice-president for Public Affairs and Alumni Relations at MBZUAI, said that this agreement constitutes an important step that allows joint cooperation between WAM and MBZUAI, with the aim of building capabilities in the fields of data, AI and media by participating in projects and training programmes, stressing that the agreement enhances work on developing methodologies and mechanisms for data exchange, as well as holding workshops in the field of data science and AI applications for the benefit of the two parties and the exchange of university students’ experiences in preparing research in the field of media.
He affirmed that the university seeks to empower a new generation of AI leaders through exceptional education and a unique model of academic cadres, noting that the university also offers students a range of graduate programmes, with a focus on the core disciplines of AI, mainly computer vision, machine learning, and natural language processing.
