Dr. Ling Shao was the founder of both the Inception Institute of Artificial Intelligence (IIAI) and the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI). He also served as the CEO and Chief Scientist of IIAI (2018-2021) and as the Provost and Executive Vice-President of MBZUAI (2019-2021). IIAI and MBZUAI have been pivotal in advancing AI research in the UAE since 2018. In recognition of his scientific contributions, he was awarded the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinguishment, the highest scientific honor in the UAE.