Morocco World News
Ifrane, Morocco, June 9, 2012
Al Akhawayn University announces that the international actor Said Taghmaoui will be the keynote speaker at the 15th commencement on June 16, 2012. Said Taghmaoui will give a speech to the graduating class, the largest in Al Akhawayn University history, with over 320 students.
The French-American actor Taghmaoui began his career in 1994. Taghmaoui, with Kassovitz wrote side by side the script for La Haine, a movie that earned the Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1995. Said Taghmaoui is multilingual. He speaks four languages: French, English, Arabic, and Amazigh.
Taghmaoui played in numerous Moroccan and international movies such as Marrakech Express, with the international actress Kate Winslet (Titanic), Three Kings with George Clooney, Ali Zaoua: le prince de la rue by Nabil Ayouch, Ô Jérusalem (2006) by Elie Chouraqui, GI Joe, Djinns, Lost: Les Disparus and others.
This year, over 320 students from Al Akhawayn University will receive their diplomas. The graduating Class of 2012 is composed of 57% of girls and 43% of boys: more than 265 students completed a Bachelor’s degree and over 65 students will earn a Master’s degree. The graduation ceremony is a significant moment for each student. It illustrates an opportunity to celebrate many years of hard work and to share great accomplishments with deans, faculty, families and friends.
The Class of 2012, as the previous fifteen Al Akhawayn classes have benefited from a unique educational model in Morocco based on the liberal arts curriculum. The North American educational system offers the possibility for each student to take first a core curriculum program and then to opt for a specific major and minor, giving to each student a valuable and comprehensive education resulting in a better integration in the job market.
According to Ikram Benseddik, Career Services Officer and Alumni Relations Coordinator, 281 students graduated in 2011, of which 168 girls (60%) and 113 boys (40%). In general, over 80% of students at Al Akhawayn University have successfully joined the job market or continued their higher education studies in Morocco or abroad. In the professional world, Al Akhawayn University students are highly demanded by both public and private companies and work either in communications, media, technology, finances, marketing, non-governmental organizations and others.
