Welcome to Commencement
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
MBZUAI’s fourth commencement, our largest and most diverse to date, is an opportunity to celebrate and recognize the tremendous achievements of our Class of 2025, as they embark on a journey of promise and optimism.
Important event information and updates for attending graduates, faculty, and guests.
Commencement InformationStory of
the Gowns
The graduation gown.
It is the start of a tradition.
It carries a sense of place and belonging.
The gown is resplendent gold and blue,
hand stitched to evoke Abu Dhabi's sea and sand.
it is also evocative of wisdom and enlightenment.
Blue is from the velvety sea, rich with life,
teeming with possibility.
It also donates bold vision and leadership.
Our graduation gown is completed by a hood,
reminiscent of the Emirati bisht.
The lining holds the pattern of the UAE's national flower.
Truly, the gown is a tribute to local culture,
national aspirations, and a thirst for knowledge.
Speakers
Professor Eric P. Xing is the President of the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, and Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of GenBio AI. His main research interests are the development of machine learning and statistical methodology, and large-scale computational system and architectures, for solving problems involving automated learning, reasoning, and decision-making in artificial, biological, and social systems.
Xing has served on the editorial boards of leading scientific journals including the Journal of the American Statistical Association, Annals of Applied Statistics, PLOS Journal of Computational Biology, IEEE Journal of Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Machine Learning Journal, and Journal of Machine Learning Research. He was elected Fellows AAAI, ACM, ASA, IEEE, and IMS.
Salma Hassan graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from the American University in Sharjah. During her undergraduate studies, the Egyptian native developed an interest in and aptitude for artificial intelligence (AI). She took elective courses in machine learning and deep learning before joining MBZUAI in 2023. She soon became passionate about applying machine learning in healthcare to build AI solutions that address real clinical needs and improve patient outcomes through data-driven insights.
Hassan received the honor of being named the Class of 2025 valedictorian for her academic excellence during her M.Sc. in Machine Learning and research contributions for AI medical applications, focusing on neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Her pioneering dementia research seeks to improve diagnostic accuracy and identify early biomarkers by leveraging relationships across data types, including brain imaging, genetics, and clinical records – modelling how different biological and structural features interact. During her two years at MBZUAI, she had a journal paper published in Nature Scientific Reports, a paper accepted at the IEEE International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP), and submitted several papers to the Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI), the leading AI and medical imaging conference. Longer term, Hassan plans to continue her research, and has already been accepted to pursue a Ph.D. at MBZUAI.
Stories
SALEM ALMARRI
Doctoral student Salem AlMarri wants to use his knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) and passion to give back to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) through synergies found in his research, his employer, and his new youth council appointment. He is one of seven talented young individuals who have been chosen to play an instrumental role in the development and growth of his city as a new member of the Dubai Youth Council for 2023-2025.
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MUHAMMAD RIDZUAN
Known in artificial intelligence circles as the ‘Godfather of AI’, Geoffrey Hinton was recently awarded the Nobel Prize in physics for his contributions to the advancement of deep learning and neural networks that power many of today’s most popular AI applications, including large language models like ChatGPT.
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MAHA ALBLOOKI AND MAITHA ALSHEHHI
Introduced by the Mother of the Nation, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Al Ketbi, in 2015 to elevate and inspire women’s empowerment in the UAE, Emirati Women’s Day (August 28) is the ideal occasion to shine a light on local women who are pushing the boundaries across all areas of society.
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KHALED BIN MOHAMED BIN ZAYED
His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Council, has attended Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence’s (MBZUAI) 2024 commencement ceremony.
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HAMED BIN ZAYED
In the presence of His Highness Sheikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) today hosted Commencement for the Class of 2023, its second cohort, strengthening AI talent capacity and contributing solutions to global challenges, including health, education, and climate.
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MBZUAI Class of 2025
Hassan Abid
Abhishek Basu
Fatimah Lyba Khan
Guoming Li
Umaima Rahman
Junchen Liu
Thao Nguyen
Ufaq Jeelani Khan
Hamad Jassem Al Hammadi
Vahan Martirosyan
Daria Kotova
Abdelrahman Etif Sadallah
Maitha Khaled Alshehhi
Xuhui Li
Xinyu Li
Zongfang Liu
Numaan Naeem
Yevheniia Kryklyvets
Khalil Ibrahim Hasan Alblooshi
Humaid Ali Ahmed Alblooshi
Nuren Zhaksylyk
Kseniia Petukhova
Abdulrahman Hasan Almarzooqi
Eman Gouda Ali
Nahom Tesfu Ghebremichael
Bhuiyan Sanjid Shafique
Tooba Tehreem Sheikh
Nasser Aref Mohsen Gawfen
Dawlat Samer Akaila
Haokun Lin
Mahardika Krisna Ihsani
Fawaghy Ahmed Saeed Alhashmi
Maitha Alnaqbi
Jinhong Wang
Jiantong Zhao
Asif Hanif
Zuotong Zhang
Aisha Abduljabbar Al-Musalami
Sebastian Cavana
Maha Mohammad Alblooki
A message to our newest alumni
Welcome to the MBZUAI alumni community. MBZUAI alumni are trailblazers, innovators and leaders powered by intellectual curiosity in technology and enterprise. We invite you to stay connected to the university and each other through the MBZUAI Alumni program, with offerings to keep you engaged through career networks, access to special events and regular AI insights.
Lea Sublett
MBZUAI Associate Director of Alumni Relations
MBZUAI Alumni