The Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) has unveiled the official agenda for the inaugural Dubai AI Week, set to take place from April 21 to 25, 2025, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, and Chairman of DFF’s Board of Trustees.
Spearheaded by the Dubai Centre for Artificial Intelligence and overseen by DFF, the event is poised to become a landmark global gathering. It will bring together over 10,000 participants—including AI innovators, government officials, tech pioneers, and business leaders—from more than 100 countries, aiming to enhance international cooperation and spotlight AI’s transformative role in governance, economic development, and future-readiness.
With an ambitious lineup of events across the city, Dubai AI Week signals a critical step in the UAE’s ongoing efforts to shape the global artificial intelligence landscape. The event promises a vibrant mix of immersive experiences, collaborative initiatives, and high-impact discussions, all centered on AI’s growing relevance in today’s world.
Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Vice Chairman of DFF’s Board of Trustees, highlighted Dubai’s pivotal position in the global AI space.
“Dubai AI Week marks a major milestone in the UAE’s journey to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence across governments and industries,” Al Gergawi said. “It reflects our commitment to advancing national strategies that put innovation at the heart of future-readiness, and to turning AI potential into practical, real-world impact.”
“The week will bring together brilliant minds from around the world to develop smart, scalable solutions that serve humanity and open new pathways for innovation and progress. It will also serve as a global platform to highlight best practices in AI adoption and inspire the next wave of ideas and experimentation.”
Al Gergawi further stressed the importance of engaging both UAE and international government bodies in dialogue and partnership. He described Dubai AI Week as a one-of-a-kind platform for public-private collaboration, showcasing global AI advancements and connecting visionary enterprises with worldwide opportunities.
The event is set to host over 180 speakers, more than 150 workshops and sessions, and over 140 interactive activations, with participation from 25+ global tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, Meta, IBM, Gartner, and Swift. Delegations from countries including the US, UK, South Korea, India, Canada, Australia, Germany, and Italy will also take part, featuring national pavilions to share their latest innovations.
Strategic partners for this edition include Digital Dubai Authority, DEWA, the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, and the UAE AI Office, alongside major tech contributors like OpenAI, Nvidia, Palantir, Cohere, and ElevenLabs.
Among the flagship events, the AI Retreat on April 21 at the Museum of the Future will serve as an invite-only gathering of over 100 global experts, industry leaders, and policymakers. This exclusive forum will focus on critical themes such as AI governance, talent, infrastructure, and investment, with dedicated roundtable sessions.
Another cornerstone event, the Dubai Assembly for AI, will run throughout the week at AREA 2071, featuring 25 sessions and live demonstrations by leading AI companies, and is expected to attract over 2,500 global stakeholders.
A major highlight will be the Global Prompt Engineering Championship (April 22–23), hosted at AREA 2071, where 24 finalists from a pool of 3,800 applicants will compete for AED 1 million in prizes across four categories: Art, Gaming, Coding, and Video. The competition aims to showcase talent in the emerging field of prompt engineering—crafting precise prompts to generate AI content.
The Dubai AI Festival (April 23–24) at Madinat Jumeirah will offer a vibrant platform for networking, featuring 8,000 experts, 500 investors, and 100 global exhibitors, and is being organized by Dubai AI Campus in partnership with DIFC and the UAE AI Office.
Concurrently, the Machines Can See Summit will take place from April 23–24 at the Museum of the Future and AREA 2071. The summit will explore AI’s role in driving positive change, featuring keynote speeches, technical sessions, workshops, and exhibitions. This is organized in collaboration with the UAE AI Office and DFF.
On the academic front, the 8th International Conference on Education Quality, hosted from April 22–24 at the Grand Hyatt, will engage researchers, students, and decision-makers to explore how AI is reshaping public services and education. It is organized by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs – Dubai and the Emirates Academy for Identity and Citizenship.
Healthcare will also be in the spotlight, with the HIMSS Executive Summit on April 23 at Emirates Towers Hotel. Organized by HIMSS and supported by the Dubai Health Authority, the summit will explore the promise of generative AI in precision medicine, genomics, and healthcare delivery.
Closing out the week, the Dubai AI Hackathon (April 25) at AREA 2071, held in collaboration with Hackmasters, will challenge developers to build autonomous AI agents capable of solving real-world problems.
At the grassroots level, the AI in Schools initiative—organized in collaboration with KHDA—will run throughout the week, introducing students to core AI concepts and encouraging a new generation of tech-savvy thinkers.
Dubai AI Week stands as a powerful testament to the UAE’s vision of building a future driven by innovation, inclusion, and global cooperation, activating key sectors ranging from education and healthcare to infrastructure, governance, and entrepreneurship. From high-level policy discussions and world-class exhibitions to hands-on challenges and community outreach, the event aims to supercharge AI readiness and foster transformative global partnerships
