Dubai launches Nad Zabeel research and innovation campus in Zabeel Park

Dubai, UAE - Dubai has announced Nad Zabeel, a research, development and innovation (RDI) campus in Zabeel Park whose programmes and events are expected to draw more than 30,000 scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs a year.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, witnessed the announcement on 1 November, according to the Dubai Media Office.

Launching the campus was His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dubai Future Foundation.

The audience included His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the UAE Olympic Committee, Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, and other senior officials.

The media office said the new building would be both an architectural and a knowledge hub, sitting at the heart of the emirate’s RDI network and hosting international partnerships, programmes and large research ventures.

It added that the scheme would build on Dubai’s reputation, regionally and globally, as a place where knowledge is created and advanced technology is developed.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed said: “Guided by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai became the first city in the world to institutionalise an integrated government framework centred on anticipating and shaping the future. This transformed future thinking from a series of standalone initiatives and projects into a sustainable institutional approach.

“This journey began years ago, turning Mohammed bin Rashid’s vision into an integrated ecosystem of institutions, initiatives and projects that design the future and prepare for its transformations.”

He added: “Today, this ecosystem includes the Museum of the Future, Dubai Future Foundation, Dubai Future Accelerators, Dubai Future Labs and Dubai Future Academy. Together, these institutions and initiatives anticipate transformations, develop talent, test solutions and translate ideas into practical applications.

“We continue this journey today with the launch of Nad Zabeel, a major addition to Dubai’s future-shaping ecosystem and a global centre bringing scientific research, development and innovation together to transform knowledge into new economic and development opportunities.”

Sheikh Hamdan also said: “Shaping the future in Dubai is not a slogan or a temporary project, but an integrated institutional system established by Mohammed bin Rashid that we continue to develop and build upon.

“Our goal is to keep Dubai ahead in anticipating global transformations, developing solutions to future challenges, attracting the world’s leading minds and expertise, and reinforcing its position as a global centre for knowledge creation and shaping the future.”

His Excellency Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Managing Director of Dubai Future Foundation, said: “Nad Zabeel translates the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum into action by establishing research and development as a key driver of progress and economic opportunity.

“The campus will provide a global institutional platform bringing researchers, universities, technology companies, investors and government entities together within one environment. This will strengthen Dubai’s position as a trusted destination for scientific talent and knowledge investment, and an influential centre in the future economy.”

The campus will shape sectors that the announcement said are central to people’s lives. Artificial intelligence and robotics head the list, with advanced, urban, health and environmental technologies also named.

The aim is to give Dubai more institutional and research capacity as it grows new industries and lifts their share of the economy.

Since 2016 the emirate has steadily built foresight, research, innovation and skills work into its institutions. That network takes in the bodies Sheikh Hamdan listed, plus economic districts and specialist centres for key sectors.

Nad Zabeel gives it purpose-built research facilities, where partners can work side by side and move new solutions more quickly from development to use.

Plans for the Zabeel Park site include labs, science and research centres, and incubators for creative and innovative work. Top scientists, engineers and researchers will be based there, together with innovators, future pioneers and specialists from the UAE, the wider region and overseas.

The plot is in central Dubai. Burj Khalifa, Dubai International Financial Centre, the Museum of the Future, Emirates Towers and Dubai Frame are all less than a kilometre away, and officials expect the campus to attract innovators, researchers and future shapers from across the globe.

In January, Sheikh Mohammed launched the $27.2bn Zabeel District expansion of DIFC.

International tech firms, universities and other academic bodies, well-known institutes and government departments are expected to take space at Nad Zabeel, along with experts, scientists, engineers and innovators from many disciplines.

Bodies drafting future legislation, start-ups and local and international investors will also have a base there. The campus will include leisure facilities and venues for scientific and professional events.

Its accelerator and incubator programmes are meant to bring government, investors, researchers and start-ups closer together, backing young companies and helping them raise the funding they need to expand.

The project sits within the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), which Sheikh Mohammed launched. Its 100 projects are meant to double Dubai’s economy by 2033 and keep the city among the three leading business cities in the world.

The announcement said the campus would help by building up the knowledge economy, drawing in specialist talent and investment, and speeding the growth of tech companies and start-ups. It will also bring research, commercial development and future legislation together, which the media office said would make Dubai more competitive and help it lead new high-value sectors.

Nad Zabeel will also act as an incubator for the Dubai Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Ecosystem, set up on Sheikh Hamdan’s directives in December 2025. Run under Dubai Future Foundation, the ecosystem covers existing and planned RDI projects and initiatives.

It helps public and private bodies in Dubai and the wider UAE build ideas with real impact on emerging technologies and advanced applications. A single framework links that research to the country’s economic, social and development goals.

In Emirati usage, “nad” means elevated ground. The announcement said the name refers both to the campus’s distinctive architecture and to Dubai’s aim of climbing higher in research, knowledge and innovation.

Dubai Future Foundation will supervise construction and related operations, which are due to finish within five years.