Abu Dhabi is hosting the 31st International Conference on Computational Linguistics (COLING 2025), kicking off on Sunday. The event, organised by the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), is set to welcome over 1,500 attendees from around the world at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) from January 19 to 24.

This marks the first time COLING is being held in the Middle East, with the support of the Abu Dhabi Convention and Exhibition Bureau (ADCEB), part of the Department of Tourism and Culture – Abu Dhabi. Ahead of the main conference, the first-ever Winter School on Arabic Natural Language Processing, co-hosted by NYU Abu Dhabi and MBZUAI, is taking place on January 18 and 19.

The event will feature 22 workshops, nine tutorials, keynote speeches, and the Winter School, aiming to enhance knowledge in Arabic NLP research. Professor Preslav Nakov, Chair of the local organising committee, said the conference is a platform for advancing dialogue and innovation in AI and computational linguistics.

COLING 2025 has accepted 853 research papers for its sessions, including 22 contributions from MBZUAI students and faculty. This biennial event, established in 1965, attracts experts from research institutions, universities, and tech start-ups worldwide.

Abu Dhabi has previously hosted significant AI events, including the IEEE International Conference on Data Mining (ICDM) and the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) in 2024. The UAE’s focus on AI is further highlighted by its fifth-place ranking in the 2024 Global AI Power Rankings and MBZUAI’s recognition among the top 10 universities globally for AI specialisations.

Professor Nakov added that Abu Dhabi’s blend of tradition and modernity reflects its commitment to technology and innovation while fostering global connectivity and learning.