Hosni Ghedira currently serves as the Director of Research Engagement at Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the world’s first graduate-level research-based AI university. He holds an MSc degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Sherbrooke (Canada) and a PhD in Water Sciences from the University of Quebec (Canada), obtained in 1997 and 2001, respectively. Prior to his tenure at MBZUAI, he was the Director of the Research Centre for Renewable Energy Mapping and Assessment at Masdar Institute from 2010 to 2020. Before relocating to the UAE, he spent six years at the City University of New York as an Assistant Professor and Research Associate Professor. In 2003, he founded the Environmental Remote Sensing and Image Processing Laboratory at the NOAA Cooperative Remote Sensing Science & Technology Center (NOAA-CREST) in New York.With over 20 years of rich and progressively responsible experience in the sectors of energy, environment, innovation, and climate, and more than 10 years at a managerial level, Ghedira has played a pivotal role in designing and directing research activities in earth observation, renewable energy mapping, environmental monitoring, spatial data analysis, atmospheric and climate modeling, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. He has attracted more than $20 million in external funding and has been instrumental in initiating discussions between regional and international stakeholders to coordinate their national strategies related to renewable energy implementation and assessment.