• International experts assess 13 full proposals submitted by 58 researchers affiliated with 38 institutions in 9 countries
• Full proposals evaluated based on overall scientific and technical merit, significance, and innovation, research approach, investigator/team, capacity building, resources and budget
• Winning projects and newly selected awardees to be officially announced in January 2026

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 10 October 2025 - The UAE Research Program for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP), managed by the National Center of Meteorology (NCM), has announced the selection of qualified research proposals for the program's Sixth Cycle grant. This follows the meeting of its International Technical Review Committee, which convened at NCM headquarters in Abu Dhabi on 7 and 8 October 2025. The winning projects and the newly selected awardees will be officially announced in January 2026.

The meeting marked the final stage of the Sixth Cycle's evaluation process, during which the panel of international experts assessed 13 full proposals submitted by 58 researchers, scientists and experts affiliated with 38 institutions in 9 countries including the UAE. 

The panel evaluated the full proposals based on five key criteria including overall scientific and technical merit, significance, and innovation (35%), research approach (20%), investigator/team (20%), capacity building (15%), and resources and budget (10%).

His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Al Mandous, Director General of the National Center of Meteorology (NCM) and President of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said: “Over the course of its five previous cycles, the UAEREP has established a strong global reputation as a focal point for groundbreaking innovation aimed at addressing the challenge of global water stress. This achievement is aligned with the UAE's ongoing commitment to supporting international efforts in climate resilience and sustainable water resource management. As we move into the Sixth Cycle, the program will continue to pursue innovative solutions to mitigate water scarcity through productive research collaborations, reaffirming UAEREP's status as a global hub for scientific excellence and leadership in rain enhancement research.”

For her part, Alya Al Mazroui, Director of UAEREP, said: “I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to the members of the International Technical Review Committee for their dedication, insight, and spirit of collaboration throughout the multi-phase, merit-based evaluation process. The selected proposals reflect months of rigorous work and a wealth of ideas across diverse scientific methodologies, new technologies, and forward-looking approaches. As we look ahead, the UAEREP remains firmly committed to advancing these promising ideas and supporting innovators to translate their visions into solutions that benefit the UAE and communities around the world.”

Since its launch during the 7th International Rain Enhancement Forum (IREF) held in Abu Dhabi in January 2025, the Sixth Cycle attracted 140 submissions, from which 16 innovative pre-proposals were selected following a rigorous pre-proposal review in May 2025.

Researchers were invited to submit innovative research proposals by 28 August 2025, aligned with the program's five priority research areas, underpinning the program's 10-year roadmap, namely, Optimized Seeding Materials, Novel Cloud Formation and/or Rain Enhancement Systems, Autonomous UAS, Limited-Area Climate Interventions, and Advanced Models, Software, and Data.

This Sixth Cycle drew proposals from several leading industry, academic and research institutions within the UAE and internationally, including the University of California (Irvine and Los Angeles), Columbia University, Princeton University, Victoria University, ETH Zurich, Stockholm University, Kyoto University, Tsinghua University, Politecnico di Milano, Khalifa University, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), the American University of Sharjah, and GAL (Global Aerospace Logistics).

Proposals were also submitted by prominent government entities such as the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the Chinese Meteorological Administration's Weather Modification Centre, the South Korean National Institute of Meteorological Sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

As part of its Sixth Cycle, the UAEREP offers a grant of up US$1.5 million (AED5.511 million) for each winning project proposal. The grant will be distributed among up to three innovative research projects over three years, with a maximum annual amount of $550,000. This cycle builds upon the program's renewed vision that aims to establish UAEREP as the global hub for research, development, demonstration, and deployment of rain enhancement technologies and operations that contribute to global water security.

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