MBZUAI Deepens Research Collaboration With École Polytechnique For AI Advancements

Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) is set to strengthen its collaboration with France's AI sector in 2025. This follows an expanded partnership with École Polytechnique through a new Collaborative Research Agreement. The initiative will drive mission-focused research by core investigators from both institutions, targeting areas such as large language models, AI applications in biology and health, and AI safety.

In February, MBZUAI and École Polytechnique signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote joint initiatives in education, research, and innovation within artificial intelligence. This agreement was formalised during the AI Action Summit in France, where Professor Eric Xing spoke on AI's impact on science and society. Building on this foundation, the two institutions established the Scholars Exchange Program Agreement in April, facilitating student and researcher exchanges between them.

The collaboration between MBZUAI and École Polytechnique marks a significant step forward in accelerating joint research efforts. It also supports the development of future researchers and innovators in AI. Laura Chaubard, Director-General of École Polytechnique, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership: "I'm delighted to be moving forward with our strategic research partnership with MBZUAI. The scientific synergies are numerous, in the fields of AI for health, safety, and environmental sustainability, as well as in large language models and foundation models for reasoning. I'm sure that these synergies will give rise to rich collaborations in the future."

Professor Eric Xing highlighted the importance of these partnerships: "Our partnerships and presence in France are critical to the continued growth and innovation of our research capabilities at MBZUAI and we’re excited to expand our relationship with École Polytechnique in support of these efforts. Our expanded agreement represents a blueprint for global research collaboration to advance the field of AI and share in the benefits collectively across France and the UAE."

The MBZUAI France Lab plays a crucial role in supporting these research ties with France. Located in Paris, this satellite lab has already achieved notable successes. Researchers have developed Atlas-Chat, a family of open-source large language models focusing on Moroccan Arabic dialect (Darija). Two models have been released: Atlas-Chat-2B for generating fluent Darija text efficiently, and Atlas-Chat-9B for more nuanced outputs suitable for advanced tasks.

Future Initiatives

The France Lab will also be integral to MBZUAI’s upcoming Institute of Foundation Models (IFM), a global initiative connecting AI talent from Abu Dhabi, Silicon Valley, and Paris. This lab will be one of three centres dedicated to advancing next-generation foundation models and delivering their benefits worldwide.

This strategic partnership signifies a major milestone for both institutions as they work together to enhance their research capabilities. By fostering collaboration across borders, they aim to make significant advancements in artificial intelligence that benefit communities globally.

With inputs from WAM