A collaboration agreement was signed with the representatives from Total and Thales Group, alongside faculty and staff from the Sorbonne university at Abu Dhabi. H.E. Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, Minister of State and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Sorbonne university AbuDhabi , and Mrs. Pascale Sourisse, President  Thales International signed a collaboration agreement on creation of an industrial chair headquartered at Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi (SUAD) in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The signing ceremony brought together representatives from Total and Thales Group, alongside faculty and staff from the university. H.E. Nusseibeh expressed his delight for the recent opening of the artificial intelligence facility, which will host its first chair with the support of French companies- Total and  Thales Group. He stated, “We start the new year with hope and optimism. With a new Board of Directors at the helm of Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, we strive to embark on a development strategy that integrates research and education with new Executive Education programmes on Artificial Intelligence that focus on machine learning and data science”.

“SUAD is entering a crucial phase as it rolls out multiple initiatives catering to the fields of science, mathematics and artificial intelligence, in addition to a training course for management professionals,” added H.E. Nusseibeh.

He praised the efforts of the academic and administrative staff, whose efforts were instrumental to the growth and development of the university; which is not only a testament to French-Emirati relations, but is also responsible for more than 2000 graduates who have entered the local workforce. He concluded, “We have collectively taken a giant leap in the direction of progress and development and hope to march on with the design of new programs and initiatives that are fully in line with the national strategy of the UAE.”

Mrs. Pascale Sourisse, President Thales International commented “On behalf of the Thales Group, I am honoured to co-inaugurate this Chair in Artificial Intelligence in partnership with Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, Total  and with the valuable endorsement of the UAE authorities. As a partner to the UAE for more than 45 years, Thales is committed to developing industry, innovation and education in our strategic domains.  AI is a cornerstone of our development in digital across our markets. We look forward to anchoring this initiative in the UAE’s ambitious national agenda for AI. Through this Chair, we also support the development of a strong collaboration with other leading academic institutions to further advance scientific research in this field”