WEF and TII Announce Abu Dhabi Centre for Frontier R&D and Policy
The Centre will focus on frontier fields, including quantum computing, robotics, propulsion, and space systems, as well as related AI applications.
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At the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos, the Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and the World Economic Forum launched the Abu Dhabi Centre for Frontier Technologies, a new addition to WEF’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) Global Network. The initiative positions Abu Dhabi as the newest global hub for advancing and governing frontier technologies, including quantum computing, robotics, propulsion, and space systems, as well as related AI applications.
The agreement was formalized during a signing ceremony on the sidelines of the meeting to align cutting-edge research with global policy frameworks and real-world deployment. The Centre will operate within the C4IR Global Network, a platform designed to help governments, industry, and research institutions collaboratively shape the development and adoption of emerging technologies.
TII, the applied research arm of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council, brings deep technical capabilities to the partnership. By embedding these capabilities within the WEF network, the Centre aims to accelerate the translation of frontier research from laboratories into scalable applications. The UAE’s regulatory environment—characterized by rapid policy iteration, regulatory sandboxes, and close coordination between policymakers and researchers—will serve as a testbed for piloting new technologies at a national scale.
According to Dr. Najwa Aaraj, CEO of TII, the Centre reflects the growing need to guide the responsible adoption of frontier technologies as they mature. She emphasized that the platform is designed not only to push the boundaries of research and development but also to ensure that breakthroughs are governed, scalable, and aligned with societal needs.
From WEF’s perspective, the addition of Abu Dhabi strengthens the geographic and technical diversity of the C4IR network, which already includes centers in the United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and India. Jeremy Jurgens, Managing Director at WEF, noted that integrating Abu Dhabi’s research capabilities into the network would help industries and governments move innovation into practice while advancing inclusion, sustainability, and trust in technology.
Beyond research, the Abu Dhabi Centre for Frontier Technologies will function as a convening platform—hosting proof-of-concept pilots, global dialogues, and policy experimentation.
