Accenture and Stanford launch Generative AI Scholars Program across the Middle East.
The program targets C-suite leaders in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, aiming to close the gap between AI hype and real business impact. It’s not your typical executive course. Over 40 hours of online content from Stanford faculty meets Accenture’s deep industry insights.
The focus: turning AI curiosity into capability with bite-sized modules on GenAI fundamentals, prompt engineering, and strategy. Participants get real-world applications tailored to the aggressive digital ambitions in the region. 
Abir Habbal, Accenture’s Data and AI Strategy lead for the Middle East, explains the program’s mission: build AI-literate leadership that drives business transformation—not just tech upgrading.
Executive education programmes are instrumental in accelerating the Middle East’s AI transformation by comprehensively equipping leaders for the AI era.
They are crucial for building AI-literate leadership, empowering decision-makers across the GCC to not only understand AI’s potential but also to strategically apply it within their organisations.
The program tackles common barriers seen in Middle Eastern enterprises: leadership misalignment, unclear ROI, data and talent shortages, and the false idea that AI is only an IT issue.
Despite high awareness, a significant gap exists between AI understanding and real-world implementation among business leaders.
Accenture’s research highlights that while 84 per cent of c-suite executives believe they must leverage AI to achieve their growth objectives, only 15 per cent feel their organization is truly ready to scale it.
Saudi Arabia and UAE were chosen for rollout thanks to their bold AI investments—massive government funding, digital ecosystems, and growing AI R&D centers. They’re also pushing AI fluency from top leaders down through workforce training.
Expected outcomes: faster, smarter decision-making, higher employee productivity, and measurable ROI. Participants will drive business model changes and innovation at scale.
AI tools help leadership teams make faster, more informed decisions, leading to improved strategic agility.
By leveraging AI, leaders can free up time for their teams to focus on high-impact work rather than being buried in manual analysis or reporting.
The program is part of Accenture’s wider push to align AI with national economic and digital transformation priorities in the region.
More on Accenture’s AI efforts here: Accenture Middle East
