The government of the United Arab Emirates has announced a strategic partnership with Google, allowing university students in the nation free access to the premium version of Gemini, a leading tool in advanced generative artificial intelligence. This initiative is part of the country’s efforts to cultivate advanced talent in the field of AI and enable students to leverage the latest technologies in line with the UAE’s AI strategy goals.
His Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, emphasized that under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and the guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE and Prime Minister, the UAE is committed to investing in its people. He noted that providing cutting-edge AI tools is essential for achieving global leadership by harnessing AI for skills development, capability building, efficiency enhancement, and accelerating innovation across various sectors.
He added that the UAE government has developed a clear future vision centered around empowering society with technology and AI by building global and strategic partnerships, fostering a stimulating environment for learning and entrepreneurship, and supporting efforts to double objectives and expedite achievements. This positions the UAE as a global model for using technology to serve communities.
Anthony Nakash, Google’s Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa, highlighted the strong interest in AI and education within the UAE community, as evidenced by a 110% increase in search inquiries related to these topics over the past two months compared to last year.
He pointed out that this significant rise reflects growing interest among students and educators in exploring modern technologies, reinforcing the importance of the strategic collaboration with the UAE government to enable all university students nationwide to benefit from the latest models and features available on the Gemini platform, thus fostering creativity in their educational journeys.
Rapid Access to Advanced Models
To enable students to take advantage of generative AI technologies in their education, university students in the UAE will have access to the Gemini 2.5 Pro model, which is the most advanced version. They can utilize it for generating content, text, images, and videos with audio, alongside advanced methods to enhance research and support specialized reports with in-depth information, as well as a storage capacity of up to 2 terabytes. The free offer also includes the ability to organize student projects using the NotebookLM tool, providing audio and visual summaries that are five times more comprehensive, simplifying daily tasks, and enhancing writing efforts.
All university students in the UAE aged 18 and over can register before December 9 of this year by entering their university details and personal email to obtain a free subscription for a full year, starting from the date of registration.