Emirates News Agency – TII, MBZUAI partner to advance Abu Dhabi’s smart city ambitions

ABU DHABI, 27th March, 2023 (WAM) — The Technology Innovation Institute, TII, a globally recognized scientific research center and the applied research arm of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council, ATRC, announced that its artificial intelligence and The Digital Technology Science Research Center (AIDRC) has entered into a partnership with the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI). The partnership aims to accelerate Abu Dhabi’s vision to become a smart and sustainable city by 2030 by enhancing its capabilities in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.

The partnership involves a team of AIDRC scientists including Prof. Mérouane Debbah (Principal Investigator), Dr. Bassem Ouni (Principal Investigator), Dr. Thierry Lestable (Executive Director) and Prof. Lucas Cordeiro (Director), who together with Prof. MBZUAI will supervise several Associate Professors, Postdocs, PhDs and graduate students. Over a three-year period, the researchers will work on developing advanced AI models for cybersecurity and smart city applications.

A major focus of the research program will be protecting a variety of threat-sensitive systems, including sustainable cognitive and connected buildings, 5G communication networks, and autonomous systems critical to shaping sustainable smart cities.

Professor Mérouane Debbah highlighted the importance of combining artificial intelligence with cybersecurity and the multiple advantages it can bring. However, he also highlighted the challenges of using AI for real-time applications in smart cities, which require massive computing resources, diverse datasets, and malicious code capabilities to guard against intrusions and anomalous signatures. He believes that the collaboration with MBZUAI will allow them to investigate emerging cybersecurity issues and propose viable solutions using future artificial intelligence models.

Professor Mohsen Guizani, Professor of Machine Learning at MBZUAI, expressed his enthusiasm for the collaboration with TII and the opportunity to strengthen collaboration between research institutions in Abu Dhabi. He is confident that their joint efforts will help enhance the UAE’s position as a leader in R&D innovation in the region and beyond. Professor Guizani also expressed his interest in future collaborations with TII in research areas beyond the current scope of AIDRC.