Mohammed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the world’s first university dedicated to AI, has partnered with AIQ, the artificial intelligence (AI) joint venture of Abu Dhabi’s oil producer ADNOC and G42. As part of this collaboration MBZUAI will develop a joint lab or research facility. The solutions that MBZUAI and AIQ explore will focus on finding solutions for the energy sector.

Students from the university will be able to intern at AIQ as part of the partnership, which will develop AI to unlock innovation that enhances the sustainability and efficiency of the oil and gas sector. The collaboration will also facilitate knowledge sharing and train future leaders to effectively apply AI. This agreement is one of many that MBUAI has signed to support AI innovation and the development of new talent in the sector.

Earlier this year, MBZUAI partnered with global tech giant IBM to establish a Center of Excellence focusing on natural language processing, AI for healthcare, and sustainability.

Even at 2% of its global impact, AI is expected to contribute $320 billion to the Middle East’s economy by 2030. Identifying this potential, the UAE established an AI lab to train employees of both public and private sectors as early as 2017. The regional tech hub Dubai has integrated AI into transportation and hopes to cut costs by 44% and emissions as well as accidents by 12%.