Shipping major CMA CGM signed a deal with the American University of Beirut to set up the CMA CGM Artificial Intelligence and Insights Institute within the university’s School of Computing and Data Sciences.
Anchored by a $10 million donation from CMA CGM, the partnership will establish and endow the CMA CGM Artificial Intelligence and Insights Institute. The institute will advance interdisciplinary research and innovation at the intersection of computing, data science, and artificial intelligence (AI) with fields across the university, while driving entrepreneurship, shaping policy and practice, expanding capacity building, and creating strategic international collaborations.
Its research will be organized in part through thematic clusters, including the CMA CGM Data, Decisions, and Operations Cluster, focused on:
- logistics optimization and network design;
- forecasting, pricing, and yield management;
- research computing and automation;
- resilience and disruption management; and
- sustainable operations.
The CMA CGM Artificial Intelligence and Insights Institute will also contribute to the development of the next generation of AI and data science talent in Lebanon and across the region through specialized educational offerings, upskilling certificates, professional diplomas, and hands-on learning opportunities.
Dr. Fadlo Khuri, AUB president, commented: “To remain relevant, it is vital for a university to recognize when the world is changing, and to then have the courage and imagination to change with it. For 160 years, AUB has sought to do something quite simple but simultaneously difficult: to take knowledge and put it to work in service of people and society. That mission has taken many forms over the decades. And today, it is taking another exciting new step with the School of Computing and Data Sciences.”
Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM chairman and CEO, added: “It is our first academic partnership of this scale in AI, combining AUB’s academic excellence with CMA CGM’s operational expertise to address key challenges for our industry. AI will be central to the future of CMA CGM and Lebanon, and this partnership reaffirms our confidence in Lebanon’s youth and our ambition to help train the talents who will shape that future”.
