Establishment before the first student cohort
Abu Dhabi announced MBZUAI's establishment on October 16, 2019, alongside its first board meeting and the opening of applications. The new university was intended to combine AI teaching and research; the announcement was an institutional founding milestone, rather than an AI model release. [1]
Contemporary reporting corroborates the announcement date. Plans for the start of classes in that release should not be treated as actual enrollment: the university's later history places the first student cohort in 2021. The promotional first-ever framing is not needed to establish the institution's role. [2][3][1]
Sources
- Abu Dhabi announces establishment of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence
Emirates News Agency - WAM · Oct 16, 2019
- World’s first artificial intelligence university to open in Abu Dhabi
The National · Oct 16, 2019
- About us
Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence · retrieved Oct 23, 2026