MBZUAI spotlights five Emirati women championing AI

ABU DHABI/WAM

In celebration of Emirati Women’s Day, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) has chosen to spotlight Emirati women excelling in their specialisations within artificial intelligence (AI), ranging from natural language processing (NLP) to the ethical use of AI in industry. Currently, 34 female Emirati students are studying at the university, which has a total student body of 381 from 49 countries (30 percent female, 70 percent male).
The MBZUAI selected five Emirati women who are either current students, alumni, or faculty at MBZUAI and are making a positive impact while inspiring others across the UAE and tech industries to pursue their dreams.
Fatima AlKhoori, a transportation engineer with extensive industry experience, including as an R&D expert for Etihad Rail, is pursuing a PhD in machine learning at MBZUAI. Her research on transformer model architecture aims to enhance the accuracy with which autonomous vehicles recognise traffic signs, a critical area for the safe integration of self-driving technologies. By leveraging UAE-specific and global datasets, AlKhoori is contributing to advancements that could significantly improve transportation safety in the UAE, reflecting her deep commitment to solving key infrastructure challenges through AI.
Dr. Hanan Aldarmaki is a leading expert in Arabic speech and language processing at MBZUAI, where she explores AI methods such as unsupervised learning and transfer learning to adapt text and speech models for low-resource languages. Her work focuses on documenting Emirati dialects, enhancing their representation in AI models, and addressing speech and language disorders. Dr. Aldarmaki’s dedication to teaching and impactful research, along with her leadership in the UAE Graduate Students Research Conference, underscores her influential role in advancing NLP and supporting the next generation of AI researchers.
Maha Alblooki is a standout master’s student at MBZUAI, specialising in Arabic natural language processing. Her research focuses on developing a large language model (LLM) to preserve the cultural heritage of Arabic proverbs, with a particular emphasis on Emirati sayings. Alblooki has made significant strides in fine-tuning BERT models for the Arabic language and pioneering Optical Character Recognition (OCR) techniques to address the challenges posed by Arabic script. Her work is pivotal in advancing AI’s ability to digitise and preserve Arabic documents, contributing to the cultural and technological preservation of the language.
Maitha Alshehhi, a master’s student at MBZUAI, is dedicated to the responsible deployment of AI technologies. Recognised as a top innovator at G42 Cloud, Alshehhi’s research focuses on developing systems that enable AI to be more contextually intelligent and adaptable, aligning with ethical principles and the UAE’s AI strategy. Her commitment to promoting transparency, fairness, and inclusivity in AI, along with her ambition to inspire future innovators, highlights her influential role in shaping a future where AI serves humanity’s best interests.

Wafa Alghallabi, an MBZUAI alumna and current PhD student, is at the forefront of AI’s transformative potential in the medical field. Her research on medical imaging aims to enhance diagnostic accuracy and improve patient outcomes. Beyond academia, Alghallabi has co-founded a startup focused on AI-driven healthcare solutions, which won first place at the MBZUAI Incubation and Entrepreneurship Centre Pitch Day. Her achievements reflect the UAE’s vision of empowering women to lead and make significant contributions to both the nation and the global AI landscape.