Research to Real Systems: Inside IFM’s Foundation Model Stack
Research to Real Systems: Inside IFM’s Foundation Model Stack
IFM × AI Valley @ Carnegie Mellon
How do frontier foundation models move from research papers to real systems?
Join the Institute of Foundation Models (IFM) at MBZUAI and AI Valley for an evening exploring how modern AI systems are designed, deployed, and applied in the real world.
This event brings together CMU researchers, students, and technical builders for a deep dive into frontier AI systems—from the development of foundation models to real-world deployment.
The program will feature:
A technical talk on research-to-deployment pipelines
A live demo and hands-on workshop with IFM’s PAN world model
Networking and recruiting conversations with researchers from IFM’s global labs
We invite you to join the MBZUAI × CMU WhatsApp community, where we’ll share internship and job opportunities, early access to future IFM models and APIs, and updates on upcoming U.S. campus events and hackathons.
👉 Join the WhatsApp group:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/GmGEe2SPfZxH3HUaYwfeHj
What to Expect
🧠 Technical Talk — Research to Real Systems
How Foundation Models Move From Lab to Deployment
Speakers:
Hector Liu — Director, IFM Silicon Valley Lab
Carolyn Rosé — Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
Topics include:
Applied AI system design at IFM
Development of frontier models across language, multimodal reasoning, and world models
Capabilities, reliability, and deployment tradeoffs
Examples of applied systems in research and industry
The session will conclude with audience Q&A.
💡 Students who ask questions will receive premium IFM swag.
⚙️ Hands-On Workshop — Exploring the PAN World Model
Following the talk, participants will explore IFM’s PAN World Model, an emerging research direction for AI systems that reason about environments and interactions.
Workshop led by:
Zihan Liu
Technical Lead, PAN World Model — IFM
Workshop flow:
PAN world model demo
Guided hands-on exploration of capabilities
Interactive Q&A with researchers
Participants can either actively experiment with the model or follow along conceptually.
🍽 Dinner, Networking & Research Opportunities
After the workshop, join us for dinner and conversations with IFM researchers and AI Valley technical leads.
This session is designed for:
Discussions with IFM researchers and engineers
Learning about internship and research opportunities at MBZUAI
Connecting with builders and researchers across CMU
Continuing technical discussions from the workshop
Schedule
5:30 – 6:00 PM
Check-in, snacks, and networking
Swag distribution
6:00 – 6:10 PM
Opening remarks
Jane Zhang — US Communications Lead, MBZUAI
6:10 – 7:00 PM
Technical talk / Panel
Research to Real Systems — How Foundation Models Move From Lab to Deployment
7:00 – 7:45 PM
Hands-on workshop
Exploring the PAN World Model
7:45 – 8:30 PM
Dinner, networking, and open discussion
Swag
Attendees can pick up IFM and AI Valley swag, including:
AI Valley stickers
MBZUAI × IFM stickers
IFM T-shirts (available for attendees who join the MBZUAI × CMU community)
About IFM
The Institute of Foundation Models (IFM) at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) is a global research center advancing next-generation foundation models across language, multimodal reasoning, and world simulation.
With research hubs in Abu Dhabi, Silicon Valley, and Paris, IFM develops scalable AI systems designed to move from cutting-edge research into real-world deployment.
About AI Valley
AI Valley is a community supporting exceptional builders, founders, and researchers through curated hackathons, workshops, and gatherings across AI and emerging technology.
🌐 https://aivalley.io
📅 https://lu.ma/aivalley
👥 https://discord.gg/QESCnSUPC9
📰 https://aivalleyio.substack.com