UCL and University of Mauritius Launch Joint AI Engineering Lab

University College London (UCL) and the University of Mauritius (UoM) have agreed a new three-year partnership to develop AI expertise, deliver collaborative student projects and address practical challenges in Mauritius. An AI Engineering Lab will begin operating at UoM in October 2026, supporting students, academics and public servants to develop AI tools locally.

A first for the Global South

The partnership runs through UCL's Industry Exchange Network (IXN), which has connected students with companies and organisations to work on real challenges for more than a decade. The new IXN South-South Programme adapts this model for partnerships between universities around the Global South — and Mauritius is the first country to take part.

Early projects

UoM-IXN has already received its first nine projects from UCL students, building offline AI systems that address challenges including export compliance, agriculture, healthcare, legal education and language technology — with no data leaving Mauritius.

Why it matters

The lab gives Mauritian students, academics and civil servants direct, ongoing access to UCL's engineering expertise without requiring data to leave the country, which matters for sectors like healthcare and legal services where data residency is sensitive. It also positions Mauritius as the entry point for UCL's broader Global South partnership model.