Abu Dhabi: Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has opened applications for the third edition of its Undergraduate Research Internship Programme (UGRIP). The competitive selection process identifies the top third- and fourth-year STEM undergraduate students from around the world to attend the month-long AI programme in Abu Dhabi.
According to Emirates News Agency, the all-expenses-paid internship programme will allow university students to connect with some of the brightest minds in AI and gain hands-on experience in AI research in areas including computer vision (CV), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP) at MBZUAI’s campus in Abu Dhabi over the summer of 2025. More than 50 percent of participants from the inaugural edition of UGRIP have since joined MBZUAI as postgraduate students or researchers, highlighting the programme’s role in fostering academic advancement.
MBZUAI’s Provost Professor Timothy Baldwin commented on the programme’s impact, stating, “UGRIP has been highly successful over its first two editions, providing a stepping-stone for aspiring researchers from around the globe to achieve real-world impact through hands-on AI projects. We look forward to welcoming some of the world’s best STEM students to Abu Dhabi and giving them the opportunity to work closely with our top-class faculty and researchers.”
Since its inaugural edition, 79 students from prestigious universities such as Harvard University, Yale University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Padova, IIT Madras, Pontificia Universidad Cat³lica de Chile, Vietnam National University HCM City, and Australian National University, have joined the programme after a rigorous selection process. Teams of UGRIP interns will work on upwards of 10 research projects specially designed for the programme by MBZUAI faculty. Last year’s interns also participated in a brain tumour segmentation challenge using CV techniques to identify tumours in medical images.
UGRIP interns also experience the heritage, history, and culture of Abu Dhabi through trips organised by the Abu Dhabi Residents Office (ADRO) and the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT) to significant landmarks such as Qasr Al Hosn, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, and the Abrahamic Family House.