From Dubai AI Festival to the UAE Ecosystem, AI Security Academy Is Building Partnerships to Secure the Region’s AI Future
The UAE is not just ready for AI security, it is actively seeking it. That is the conclusion AI Security Academy took away from two days at Dubai AI Festival 2026 at Dubai World Trade Centre, where its team held hundreds of conversations with enterprise leaders, university decision-makers, government innovators and the builders shaping the UAE's AI future. For AI Security Academy, the festival was the right room at the right moment and a key milestone in its UAE expansion. MENA Blockchain Week is proud to share this post-event update.
“AI is moving faster than ever, and tools alone will not secure your organisation. You must upskill your human capital to become the first and final layer of defence,” said Abdoulkader Dirieh, Founder & CEO at AI Security Academy.
Key Takeaways
Dubai AI Festival 2026 lasted two days at Dubai World Trade Centre, where AI Security Academy held hundreds of conversations with enterprise, university and government figures.
Dubai AI Academy is educating 10,000 leaders, and Abu Dhabi's Department of Government Enablement has launched AiNative for government employees and the public.
The UAE National AI Strategy 2031 and a dedicated Minister of AI support AI adoption across every emirate.
AI Security Academy maps its training to NIST AI RMF, MITRE ATLAS and the EU AI Act.
Dubai's D33 Economic Agenda aims to double the size of the economy by 2033.
The UAE Has Built the Foundations for AI Security
The UAE has done much of the foundational work already. Dubai AI Academy is educating 10,000 leaders, and Abu Dhabi's Department of Government Enablement has introduced AiNative, which brings AI capability to government employees and to the wider public.
Two further pillars frame the picture, namely the National AI Strategy 2031 and a dedicated Minister of AI. Together they show a country that is not simply adopting AI but constructing a whole ecosystem around it, at every level and in every emirate. Dubai AI Festival was a direct reflection of that ambition.
Dubai's D33 Economic Agenda adds an economic dimension. It aims to double the size of the emirate's economy by 2033, and as that goal approaches, a workforce able to secure AI stops being optional. It becomes part of the infrastructure that growth relies on.
What Dubai AI Festival 2026 Showed About Demand
AI Security Academy attended as an exhibitor, as part of its strategic move into the UAE. Over the two days, it says, three points became clear: the opportunity is real, the timing is right, and enterprises, universities and government institutions all show significant appetite for practical AI security capability. We reported on the company's arrival in our earlier piece on AI Security Academy's expansion into the UAE.
The risks that these organisations are now handling include prompt injection, insecure RAG, agent tool abuse, data leakage and MCP misconfiguration. Legacy cybersecurity curricula do not cover them, so they demand training designed from scratch for AI-native environments. That is the space in which AI Security Academy says it operates, and it adds that its content is mapped to industry frameworks such as the NIST AI RMF, MITRE ATLAS and the EU AI Act.
Those are the same standards and frameworks that the OWASP AI Exchange helps to develop and promote.
Training Built for Every Layer of the UAE's AI Ecosystem
Enterprises can choose role-based learning pathways for non-technical staff, developers, architects, security practitioners and governance teams. Content can also be adapted to UAE sector priorities, which include government, financial services, healthcare and critical infrastructure.
Universities can plug the platform straight into existing cybersecurity and data science curricula. Individuals, meanwhile, build practical and demonstrable skills through hands-on labs, CTF challenges and certifications that run from AI Security Essentials to Certified AI Security Red Teaming. The company stresses that these credentials are earned by performing under real conditions rather than by finishing a course.
Trusted by Professionals and Universities Worldwide
Professionals at leading institutions around the world rely on AI Security Academy's programmes, among them the African Development Bank Group, ACIST Medical Technology in the USA and Salam Bank in Djibouti, where AI security stakes are at their highest.
Universities report similar traction. Ottawa University in Canada grew from 20 to more than 200 learners across three terms, while Al Hussein Technical University in Jordan made AI Security Essentials a fourth-year subject.
A Reflection From the Dubai AI Festival Floor
Reflecting on the festival, Dirieh described how many different angles of the UAE's AI story he encountered in just two days.
“In two days, I saw the UAE's AI ambition from many angles: conversations with people from the Ministry of Education on preparing teachers and students; discussions with AI leaders shaping national direction; humanoid robotics companies enabling companionship for those who need it; AI-enabled healthcare diagnostics designed to improve patient experience and diagnostic accuracy; and autonomous security agents progressing from asset discovery and enumeration to validated proof of exploitation, essentially a full autonomous penetration testing platform.”
Next Steps for AI Security Partnerships in the UAE
The discussions that started at Dubai AI Festival 2026 are still going. AI Security Academy is working to build partnerships with universities, enterprises, government institutions and ecosystem leaders across the UAE who share the belief that AI adoption and AI security readiness have to progress together. Organisations in that position can begin at aisecurityacademy.ai
The company argues that AI will only be as secure, responsible and valuable as the people who design, operate, govern and challenge it, so human capability belongs inside the AI strategy rather than beside it. To gain from faster adoption, it says, investment has to be equal across three dimensions.
The first is people, meaning skills, awareness and practical capability. The second is process, which covers governance, risk management and accountability. The third is technology, delivered through secure architectures, controls and innovation.
“The UAE has created remarkable momentum. The next opportunity is ensuring its workforce is equally prepared to lead, secure, and sustain it,” said Dirieh.
For the community that gathers around MENA Blockchain Week, the message sits alongside a busy Dubai calendar, including the recent launch of Dubai Future Finance Week. The same organisers also run MENA AI Week for the AI side of the conversation.
About AI Security Academy
AI Security Academy is a training platform designed natively for AI security, with a single focus on securing artificial intelligence. As AI changes industries from healthcare to finance, the risks develop at the same pace. Its stated mission is to close the gap between innovation and security by equipping individuals and organisations with the skills to defend against AI-driven threats. Related reading is also available in our piece on why the future of AI and blockchain depends on stronger partnerships.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did AI Security Academy do at Dubai AI Festival 2026?
It exhibited as part of its strategic expansion into the UAE and held hundreds of conversations with enterprise leaders, university decision-makers, government innovators and builders across two days at Dubai World Trade Centre.
Which AI security threats does AI Security Academy train for?
Its training covers prompt injection, insecure RAG, agent tool abuse, data leakage and MCP misconfiguration, none of which appear on legacy cybersecurity curricula.
Which frameworks does the training follow?
The content is mapped to NIST AI RMF, MITRE ATLAS and the EU AI Act, the same standards and frameworks the OWASP AI Exchange helps develop and promote.
How can companies get involved with MENA Blockchain Week?
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