MBZUAI AIR – AI Reach is a highly selective, fully funded summer research program for exceptional high school students from around the world. Launching this year, the program brings together a small cohort of 50 students for an intensive two-week, on-campus research experience at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI). Hosted at the world’s first graduate-level university dedicated entirely to artificial intelligence, AI Reach offers students rare early exposure to advanced AI research. MBZUAI’s faculty, compute infrastructure, and research mission enable the development of large-scale sovereign foundation models at a level comparable to leading global research institutions and industry labs—an environment that is exceptionally rare at the pre-university level.

AI Reach is designed for intellectually curious, highly motivated students who want a serious introduction to university-level AI research. Rather than following a lecture-based curriculum, participants engage directly in research-oriented work, learning through experimentation, iteration, and collaboration. Students work closely with MBZUAI researchers and graduate mentors in an academic setting that reflects the rigor and expectations of top research universities.