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Over the last five years, the rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in business has generated a demand for data scientists that far surpasses the availability of trained professionals. Today, 63% of executives cite a lack of talent as a prime barrier to adopting AI technology. This talent gap is an opportunity for aspiring professionals, and a challenge for organizations and companies striving for a competitive advantage in the market. RIT Dubai has been active in supporting UAE and Dubai in creating talented and skilled personnel in the area of AI and Data Analytics. To add to this area further, RIT Dubai has worked diligently with IBM to create hands-on programs to enable its graduates to implement smarter solutions at their workplace and bring relevant experiences to their organizations. The collaboration first started with the goal of equipping professionals to become analysts, and is now being taken further to help professionals become scientists.