Professor Timothy Baldwin has been appointed provost of Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi, transitioning from an acting role to the permanent position. The appointment, announced in April 2024, caps Baldwin's rise through the institution since his arrival in 2022 as chair of the natural language processing department.
The university said Baldwin's appointment would help MBZUAI "usher in an exciting chapter" as it strengthens its position as a research and teaching institution focused exclusively on artificial intelligence. Eric Xing, MBZUAI's president, said the appointment brings together Baldwin's "leadership, dedication, and expertise" to propel the university forward. Baldwin, who previously served as acting head, stated in the announcement that he was "delighted to formally take on this position" and aimed to "contribute to establishing Abu Dhabi as a global leader of AI." Since joining MBZUAI, Baldwin has established three academic departments focused on robotics, computer science, and statistics, while recruiting 25 new faculty members to expand the institution's reach.
Baldwin brings substantial academic credentials to the role. He holds degrees from the University of Melbourne (a bachelor's degree in computer science and mathematics, and a bachelor's in linguistics and Japanese, completed in 1995) and advanced degrees from the Tokyo Institute of Technology (a master's and PhD in computer science, awarded in 1998 and 2001 respectively). Before relocating to Abu Dhabi, he spent 18 years at the University of Melbourne as a Melbourne Laureate Professor in the School of Computing and Information Systems. He previously worked as a senior research engineer at Stanford University's Center for the Study of Language and Information. Baldwin is an established researcher in natural language processing and artificial intelligence, having authored nearly 500 peer-reviewed publications with over 24,000 citations. He has held visiting positions at Cambridge University, the University of Washington, and the University of Tokyo, among others, and is a co-developer of large language models for Arabic, English, and Indonesian.
MBZUAI was established in 2019 as the world's first university dedicated entirely to artificial intelligence education and research. The institution operates in Abu Dhabi's Masdar City and offers master's and PhD programs across multiple AI specializations. The university has attracted international faculty and students; its first graduating class in 2023 included students from 25 countries, with 91 percent of graduates choosing to remain in the UAE after graduation. The university has expanded its offerings in recent years, launching new academic departments and establishing research hubs focused on areas including foundation models, digital public health, and the metaverse. MBZUAI also leads collaborative research initiatives, including joint programs with the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel and coordination of Jais, a large language model for Arabic used by the Emirati government.
Baldwin's appointment represents continuity in MBZUAI's leadership while acknowledging the growing maturity of the institution. He succeeds Ling Shao, the founding provost who departed to lead the Inception Institute of Artificial Intelligence. Baldwin's combination of deep expertise in natural language processing, a track record of building academic departments, and established presence at the university suggests the board saw him as the natural choice to formalize his interim role. His appointment reflects MBZUAI's strategic direction of deepening research capabilities in artificial intelligence while establishing the institution as a credible alternative to traditional technology research centers in Silicon Valley and Europe. The timing also aligns with broader regional ambitions; the UAE has made artificial intelligence development a stated strategic priority, and MBZUAI serves as a centerpiece of those efforts.
