Etisalat UAE, the flagship telecom arm of the etisalat group, and the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) have partnered to establish a five-year framework for joint research, innovation and talent development in areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, sustainability among others.
The agreement creates a long-term framework to bring academic research closer to real world industry applications, while developing national talent in critical areas of technology. This spans three tracks: research, innovation and testbeds; talent development and capability building; and university advancement and strategic support.
Named areas of mutual interest include artificial intelligence, telecommunications and next-generation networks, smart mobility, digital transformation, cybersecurity, data science, sustainability and health technologies.
Under the research track, the two sides will co-develop applied research, pilots and innovation initiatives, and explore shared testbeds, pilot platforms and prototyping environments to evaluate emerging technologies against real conditions rather than laboratory assumptions, according to a WAM report. Each party may provide access to selected laboratory, research and innovation facilities, and both intend to co-author technical papers, white papers and conference contributions.
Commenting on the partnership, Ali AlMansoori, Group Chief People & Culture Officer, etisalat, said: “Today we need people who can build with tools that did not exist two years ago. This agreement puts UAEU students in front of live networks, real data and unsolved problems while they are still studying, and it sends our engineers back into the lecture theatre. We are recruiting for capabilities the market has not produced yet, so we would rather help build them.”
Reflecting on the opportunities for applied research, Prof. Rami Beiram, Associate Provost for Research, United Arab Emirates University, said: “Research earns its value when it leaves the laboratory. Shared testbeds with etisalat UAE let our teams test work in artificial intelligence, next-generation networks and cybersecurity against live conditions instead of assumptions, and that shortens the distance between a published result and a deployed one. Our researchers gain an industrial partner, and our students gain a first employer who already knows their work.”
While individual projects will be defined, scoped and governed under separate agreements between the two parties, the partnership will translate these ambitions into a range of joint initiatives including:
Joint R&D and shared testbeds: Co-develop applied research, pilots and innovation placements supported by shared testbeds, prototyping environments and access to selected laboratory and innovation facilities.
National talent development: Internships, capstone projects, industrial placements and graduate opportunities for UAEU students, with hackathons and innovation challenges addressing industrial operational needs.
Faculty and expert exchange: Practitioner lectures, secondments, mentorship arrangements and joint supervision of applied research aligned to shared interests.
Executive education and certification: Joint capability-building trainings combining UAEU’s academic and technical depth with etisalat UAE’s industry experience and practical exposure.
Scholarships and national initiatives: Scholarships, research assistantships, fellowships, sponsored projects and student awards, and collaboration aligned to UAE national priorities in education, innovation, the digital economy, sustainability and advanced technology.
The partnership builds on etisalat UAE’s continued efforts to strengthen collaboration between industry and academia, support the development of national talent, advance research in technologies shaping the future of connectivity and the digital economy, and create pathways for knowledge and innovation to move closer to real-world application.
