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ADIA Lab will participate in the 2026 @UN Water Conference, co-hosted in the UAE from December 8 to 10, 2026. During the conference, Dr. Youssef Wehbe, ADIA Lab Senior Scientist – Climate Science Lead, will be speaking on ‘Developing AI Agents for Water and Food Security: Advancing Climate-Resilient Decision Support’. We look forward to connecting with fellow researchers and experts working at the intersection of climate, water, and computational data science. To learn more about our climate data science activities, check out our website adialab.ae.

As the ADIA Lab Summer Internship Program continues, undergraduate students from across the UAE are gaining hands-on experience in research, innovation and professional development. Throughout the program, interns work alongside the ADIA Lab team on projects spanning Climate Science, Health Sciences, the Digital Economy, Supercomputing, and Management. Watch the video to hear participants reflect on their experience in the program, the knowledge they have gained, and the skills they are developing in data and computational sciences.

Last week, ADIA Lab hosted participants from the National Experts Program – Artificial Intelligence (NEP-AI) @uae_nep, a specialized track of the UAE National Experts Program focused on developing Emirati talent and strengthening the country’s AI ecosystem. During the visit, Dr. Horst Simon presented “AI and Research: Compute as Capital,” exploring the role of computing power as a strategic resource for AI research and innovation. Following his lecture, members of our team presented an overview of ADIA Lab and its research areas. The visit provided a valuable opportunity to support the development of talent and the UAE’s wider AI ambitions.

The ADIA Lab International Summer School 2026 is now underway in Shenzhen, bringing together participants from around the world to explore Applied AI for the Digital Economy. So far, participants have gone behind the scenes at the National Supercomputing Center in Shenzhen, engaged with leading experts, and explored how AI is being applied to tackle real-world challenges across sectors including robotics, urban climate, and smart cities - all while experiencing one of the world's most dynamic innovation ecosystems. Here are a few moments from the first week, with more to come as the program continues.

From the continuation of our ADIA Lab Seminar Series to reaching new milestones in our Structural Break Challenge, the first half of 2026 has been filled with memorable moments. As we reflect on these highlights, we look forward to many more months of research, community engagement, collaborations and events, including the highly anticipated return of our flagship ADIA Lab Symposium, which will take place on October 26 to 28, 2026.

Last month, we wrapped up the ADIA Lab Summer School: Responsible AI in the Generative and Agentic AI Era, delivered in collaboration with the University of Granada.​ The programme brought together 49 students from 15 countries, to explore the technical foundations, governance challenges, and real-world applications shaping generative and agentic AI today.

During this year’s ADIA Lab International Summer School in Granada, several of our cohorts presented their group projects through a series of poster sessions based on this year’s theme, Responsible AI in the Generative and Agentic AI Era. Stay tuned for more highlights from the summer school, held in collaboration with the University of Granada.

Don’t miss your chance to apply for the ADIA Lab International Summer School 2026 – Applied AI for the Digital Economy – before the deadline on May 22, 2026. ​ Taking place from July 6 to 17 in Shenzhen, China, in collaboration with @TsinghuaSIGS, this year’s program highlights cutting-edge AI use cases emerging from China. Combining fundamental perspectives from top academic speakers with hands-on applications presented by experts, the program offers participants direct insight into how AI is actively being developed and implemented.​ Attendees will have the chance to experience applied AI in one of the world’s most dynamic innovation ecosystems, exploring areas such as healthcare, climate, and smart cities.​ For your chance to join a global cohort in one of the world’s leading innovation hubs, apply here: adialab.ae/summerschool-2…

New research from ADIA Lab, published in ICLR 2026, explores the potential of genomic foundation models in learning from large-scale DNA data. Led by our Health AI Research Lead, Shadab Khan, the paper - “Tokenization to Transfer: Do Genomic Foundation Models Learn Good Representations?” - examines how effectively these models capture and transfer meaningful genomic representations. Read the research here. adialab.ae/research-serie…

Applications are now open for the 2026 ADIA Lab Summer School: Applied AI for the Digital Economy, taking place July 6–17, 2026 in Shenzhen, in collaboration with @TsinghuaSIGS.​ Bringing together emerging AI talent, the program explores how AI is transforming the economy, combining academic insight with real-world applications across healthcare, smart cities, robotics, climate and energy, and responsible AI.​ Participants will join lectures, applied sessions, and group work linking theory with practice in one of the world’s most dynamic tech hubs.​ Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, with the final deadline on Friday, May 22, 2026. Apply now: adialab.ae/summerschool-2…

Following last year’s success of the competition, ADIA Lab announces the Structural Break Challenge: Real-Time Edition, in partnership with @CrunchLabHQ. This year’s competition extends the original framework into a sequential setting. Participants monitor time series data as it arrives and update, at each step, their confidence that a structural break has already occurred. Breaks are no longer fixed or pre-defined, and may occur at any point in the online segment or not at all. Applications span finance, healthcare, and climatology, amongst others. The competition offers a prize pool of USD 100,000, with teams of up to five members. Competition closes on September 17. Register to participate and access the full details: adialab.ae/adia-lab-x-cru…

In case you missed it, the third session of the 2026 ADIA Lab Seminar Series, Connecting the On-Chain to the Off-Chain, is available on our YouTube channel as part of the full Seminar Series archive. Led by Dr. @ThomasHardjono, the session explored the growing intersection between traditional finance and decentralized systems - from the rise of tokenized assets to the challenges of building secure, connected on-chain and off-chain environments. Watch the full session here: youtu.be/23z9J128K3g?si…

The Call for Proposals for the Digital Economy is now open. ADIA Lab invites expressions of interest for its 2026 funding cycle, supporting high-impact research at the intersection of AI and the digital transformation of the economy. The program focuses on advancing scientific foundations, scalable systems, and real-world applications across AI models, digital assets, the economics of AI, and digital infrastructure. Selected projects should demonstrate a clear pathway from research to application, contributing to more resilient, transparent, and efficient economic systems. Expression of interest should be submitted by May 8, 2026 here: adialab.ae/digital-econom…

This year, the ADIA Lab Summer School in China will take place in a new location: Shenzhen, in collaboration with Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School. ​ Centered on the theme ‘Applied AI for the Digital Economy’, the program will bring together top master’s students, PhD candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and young professionals to explore practical AI use cases across key industries through a mix of academic and industry-led sessions.​ Watch this space for more details.

Mark your calendars for the return of our flagship event. The ADIA Lab Symposium 2026 will take place from October 26 to 28, 2026 at the Four Seasons, Al Maryah Island, Abu Dhabi. Join us for three days of discussions and knowledge exchange, featuring contributions from leading experts alongside ADIA Lab’s Scientific Advisors, Research Fellows, and global partners. More details will follow soon. Revisit the sessions from the 2025 Symposium here: @adialab/playlists" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">youtube.com/@adialab/playl…

Congratulations to the winners of the ADIA Lab x @crunchDAO Structural Break Open Benchmark. The first end-of-quarter scoring took place on March 31, 2026, marking the first prize milestone in this continuous competition, with a USD 6,000 prize pool awarded to the top three. Stay tuned to learn more about our next Crunch Lab competition, which launches in May 2026 and will build on the previous challenge.

Just 3 days to go until ‘Connecting the On-Chain to the Off-Chain’, the third session in the 2026 ADIA Lab Seminar Series, led by Dr @ThomasHardjono. Register now: forms.office.com/r/yENVKwngYr

Join us for 'Connecting the On-Chain to the Off-Chain', the third session in the 2026 ADIA Lab Seminar Series. Led by Dr Thomas Hardjono, this session will be held virtually on Thursday, April 9. Register now: forms.office.com/r/yENVKwngYr