The Technology Innovation Institute (TII), a leading global scientific research center and the applied research pillar of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), today announced that its AI and Digital Science Research Center (AIDRC) has joined forces with the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) to accelerateAbu Dhabi’s vision of transitioning into a smart and sustainable city by 2030throughenhancing its capabilities in AI and cybersecurity.

Under the terms of the partnership, a team of AIDRC scientists, including Prof. MérouaneDebbah, Chief Researcher,Dr. Bassem Ouni, Lead Researcher,Dr. Thierry Lestable, Executive Director, and Prof. Lucas Cordeiro, Director, alongside MBZUAI professors, will mentor several associate professors, post-doctoral fellows, PhD and post-graduate students over a three-year period on developing advanced AI models for cybersecurity and smart city applications.

The collaborative research initiative will focus on securing several sensitive-to-threat systems, including sustainable cognitive and connected buildings, beyond 5G communication networks, and autonomous systems that are integral to shaping sustainable smartcities.

Speaking on the partnership, Prof. MérouaneDebbah said: “Integrating AI with cybersecurity yields multiple advantages. However, there remain significant challenges to using AI in cybersecurity for real-time applications in smart cities. Such a unique ecosystem requires substantial computing resources, trained data sets from different domains, and malware code features to be in place to safeguard against intrusion behavior and anomaly signatures. Our synergies with MBZUAI will enable us to deal with these challenges through investigating emerging cybersecurity issues and propose viable solutions using futuristic AI models.”

Prof. Mohsen Guizani, Professor of Machine Learning at MBZUAI, said: “This partnership with TII allows us to reinforce links among research institutions in Abu Dhabi, and we believe our collective efforts will contribute to enhancing the UAE’s position as a leading player in R&D innovation in the region and beyond. We look forward to future cooperation with TII in research areas that go beyond AIDRC’s current scope.”