Strategic Overview
The National Strategy for Advanced Sciences was launched in 2018, reflecting the UAE leadership’s assessment that sustainable economic diversification requires a domestic scientific research base. The strategy identifies priority disciplines — including space science, renewable energy, water technology, artificial intelligence, health sciences, and advanced materials — where the UAE aims to build globally competitive research capacity. It is coordinated through the Emirates Scientists Council and supported by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology.
The strategy operates on a dual logic. First, that the UAE must develop the capacity to generate knowledge domestically rather than relying entirely on technology transfer and imported expertise. Second, that applied scientific research can address specific national challenges — water scarcity, food security, energy transition, public health — more effectively when conducted within the local context and connected to local institutional and environmental conditions.
Research Infrastructure and Funding
Implementation of the strategy has driven significant investment in research infrastructure. The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), established as the world’s first graduate-level AI university, represents the flagship investment. The Technology Innovation Institute (TII) in Abu Dhabi conducts advanced research across quantum computing, autonomous systems, cryptography, and directed energy. Khalifa University, NYU Abu Dhabi, and the University of Sharjah have expanded their research portfolios with government-funded programmes aligned with the strategy’s priority disciplines.
Research funding has increased through competitive grant programmes administered by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives and the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge. The strategy targets an increase in gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) as a percentage of GDP, moving the UAE closer to OECD benchmarks. However, absolute spending levels remain modest compared to established research economies, and the translation of research output into commercial innovation remains a persistent challenge.
STEM Talent Pipeline
The strategy includes comprehensive provisions for developing a domestic STEM talent pipeline. This begins with school-level curriculum reform — increasing emphasis on mathematics, science, and computational thinking in national education standards — and extends through university scholarship programmes, postgraduate research fellowships, and programmes to attract international scientists to UAE-based institutions.
The Scientists Council, chaired by the Minister of State for Advanced Technology, serves as the institutional champion for scientific talent development. The council convenes researchers across disciplines, facilitates collaboration between academia and industry, and advocates for policy conditions that support scientific careers — including visa pathways, intellectual property protections, and research commercialisation frameworks.
Policy Intersections and Challenges
The National Strategy for Advanced Sciences intersects with virtually every knowledge-intensive national programme. It feeds into the National AI Strategy through research in machine learning and data science. It supports the National Space Programme through space science and satellite technology. It underpins the National Biotechnology Strategy through life sciences research. And it contributes to the energy transition through renewable energy and hydrogen research.
The strategy’s central challenge is building a self-sustaining research ecosystem in a country that has historically relied on importing technology and expertise. Producing world-class scientific output requires not only funding and infrastructure but also academic freedom, peer networks, long-term career stability for researchers, and institutional cultures that reward curiosity-driven inquiry. These conditions take decades to develop, and the strategy must navigate the tension between the UAE’s characteristic speed of execution and the inherently slow pace of building genuine scientific depth.