MBZUAI Celebrates Emirati Women Pioneering In Artificial Intelligence

In honour of Emirati Women’s Day, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) is highlighting the achievements of Emirati women in AI. These women excel in areas such as natural language processing (NLP) and ethical AI use. The university currently has 34 female Emirati students among its 381-strong student body from 49 countries, with a gender distribution of 30% female and 70% male.

Fatima AlKhoori, a transportation engineer with extensive experience, including as an R&D expert for Etihad Rail, is pursuing a PhD in machine learning at MBZUAI. Her research focuses on transformer model architecture to improve autonomous vehicle traffic sign recognition. By using both UAE-specific and global datasets, AlKhoori aims to enhance transportation safety in the UAE through AI-driven solutions.

Dr. Hanan Aldarmaki is a prominent figure in Arabic speech and language processing at MBZUAI. She investigates AI methods like unsupervised learning and transfer learning to adapt text and speech models for low-resource languages. Her work includes documenting Emirati dialects and addressing speech and language disorders. Dr. Aldarmaki also plays a significant role in the UAE Graduate Students Research Conference, showcasing her dedication to advancing NLP.

Maha Alblooki, a master’s student at MBZUAI, specialises in Arabic natural language processing. Her research involves developing a large language model (LLM) to preserve Arabic proverbs, especially Emirati sayings. Alblooki has advanced BERT models for Arabic and pioneered Optical Character Recognition (OCR) techniques for Arabic script challenges. Her contributions are vital for digitising and preserving Arabic documents.

Maitha Alshehhi, another master’s student at MBZUAI, focuses on the responsible deployment of AI technologies. Recognised as a top innovator at G42 Cloud, Alshehhi works on systems that make AI more contextually intelligent and adaptable while adhering to ethical principles aligned with the UAE’s AI strategy. She promotes transparency, fairness, and inclusivity in AI.

Transforming Healthcare with AI

Wafa Alghallabi, an MBZUAI alumna and current PhD student, is pioneering AI's potential in medical imaging to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient outcomes. She co-founded a startup focused on AI-driven healthcare solutions that won first place at the MBZUAI Incubation and Entrepreneurship Centre Pitch Day. Alghallabi's achievements reflect the UAE’s vision of empowering women to lead in the global AI landscape.

The MBZUAI has selected five Emirati women who are either current students, alumni or faculty members making significant contributions while inspiring others across the UAE and tech industries to pursue their dreams.

Their collective efforts not only advance their respective fields but also embody the UAE's commitment to fostering female leadership in technology.

With inputs from WAM