TLDR: Google has partnered with the UAE government to offer all university students aged 18 and above a complimentary one-year subscription to its advanced generative AI model, Gemini 2.5 Pro. This initiative, part of the UAE’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, aims to foster an AI-skilled workforce and enhance students’ capabilities in research, content creation, and innovation. Students can register for the free access, valued at approximately Dh73 per month, until December 9, 2025.
In a significant stride towards bolstering its national artificial intelligence capabilities, the United Arab Emirates government, in collaboration with Google, has announced a groundbreaking initiative providing all university students across the UAE with free, one-year access to Google’s advanced generative AI model, Gemini 2.5 Pro. This strategic partnership, unveiled on October 8, 2025, is a cornerstone of the UAE’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, designed to cultivate a robust AI talent ecosystem and equip the next generation with cutting-edge technological skills.
University students aged 18 and above are eligible for this complimentary subscription, which is valued at approximately Dh73 per month, and can register using a personal email before the deadline of December 9, 2025. The program aims to empower students to leverage generative AI for a wide array of academic and creative tasks, including generating text, images, and videos, summarizing complex research, and efficiently organizing daily tasks.
Omar Sultan Al Olama, the UAE’s Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, emphasized the nation’s commitment to advancing national talent through AI technologies. He stated, “The UAE continues to prioritise advancing national talent through the use of AI technologies. This initiative reflects the country’s commitment to achieving global leadership by leveraging AI to develop skills, build capabilities, enhance efficiency, and accelerate innovation across all sectors, thereby shaping a future driven by knowledge, creativity, and sustainable progress.” Al Olama further highlighted the government’s “clear and forward-looking vision centred on empowering society through technology and artificial intelligence,” supported by strategic partnerships that promote continuous learning and innovation.
Anthony Nakache, Google’s Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa, underscored the importance of this collaboration in ensuring equitable access to advanced AI tools. “We want university students across the country to equally benefit from Gemini’s latest models and features to enhance their research skills and thrive in their educational journey,” Nakache commented. He also noted a significant surge in interest, with Google Trends showing a 110 percent rise in searches related to AI and study topics in the UAE over the past two months compared to the previous year, indicating a strong appetite for AI tools among students and educators.
The free Gemini Pro subscription offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to support students’ learning and productivity. These include access to Gemini 2.5 Pro, Google’s most capable model for complex tasks such as analysis, brainstorming, and content generation. Students will also benefit from ‘Deep Research,’ which compiles multi-source insights and drafts initial research summaries; ‘NotebookLM,’ an AI-powered tool for organizing ideas now with expanded audio and video overviews; and ‘Veo 3,’ a tool capable of transforming text or photos into short eight-second videos with sound. Additionally, beneficiaries will receive 2 TB of cloud storage across Google Drive, Photos, Gmail, and Docs.
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This initiative aligns with the UAE’s broader objectives of developing an AI-ready generation and positioning its youth at the forefront of technological innovation and human capital development, crucial for its national vision to become a global leader in artificial intelligence.
