Muhammad Maaz, a researcher based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by becoming the first Gulf region recipient of the prestigious Google PhD Fellowship in Machine Perception. The announcement came as a surprise to Maaz, who was engrossed in coding when he received the news from Professor Ian Reid, Chair of Computer Vision at the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI).
The Google PhD Fellowship, now in its 16th year, is a highly competitive program that selects 255 PhD students globally from thousands of nominees across 35 countries and 12 research domains. Each university can nominate only four students, making the selection process exceptionally rigorous. The fellowship offers an annual stipend of $85,000, mentorship from Google Research, and access to a global network of researchers.
Maaz’s achievement is particularly significant as it challenges the narrative of regional brain drain, where talented researchers often leave the Middle East for opportunities abroad. Instead, Maaz chose to pursue his research in Abu Dhabi, highlighting the growing potential of the UAE as a hub for cutting-edge research and innovation.
His work focuses on developing multimodal large language models that enable machines to not only see but also understand and communicate about what they observe. “Imagine ChatGPT, but for videos,” Maaz explained. “You could upload a clip, ask questions about what’s happening, or request summaries and insights.” These advancements could revolutionize applications ranging from automated video analysis and surveillance to educational tools and accessibility features for visually impaired individuals.
Maaz attributes his success to the supportive environment at MBZUAI, where professors manage small research groups, providing direct guidance that is often challenging to achieve in larger institutions. “The support system here allows researchers to work without distraction,” he said. MBZUAI, founded in 2019, has a highly selective acceptance rate of 5%, enrolling 403 students this year from over 8,000 applicants.
Maaz’s achievement is not just a personal milestone but also a testament to the UAE’s vision and commitment to fostering innovation and research. “This achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the vision of the UAE’s leadership and the environment MBZUAI has created,” he said. “The best way I can give back is by making the most of these opportunities and striving to produce research that makes the region proud.”