Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez organized an online conference on April 28 to discuss research and innovation in human and social sciences.
With the theme “Human and Social Sciences Today: What Innovation for What Project in the Society,” the online event hosted several distinguished speakers working in Morocco and abroad.
Dr. Abdesalam El khanchoufi, director of the Training and Certification Center at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez, moderated the discussion.
The speakers included Ahmed Hammouch, Director of Scientific Research and Innovation; Abderrahmane Tenkoul, Dean of the EuroMed Faculty of Human and Social Sciences in Fez; Melyani Mohamed from the University Amiens, France; Amine Oudghiri from Marshall University in West Virginia, US; Abdelghani Youmni from Mundiapolis University of Casablanca; Mohamed Monazil from University Ibn Zohr, Agadir; and Taoufik Ftaita from the University Riviera Nice in France.
The speakers tackled four major topics: The effective encouragement of interdisciplinarity in research structures, encouraging and mobilizing researchers, the role the Moroccan diaspora can play in research and innovation in the field of human and social sciences, and the administrative and financial management of scientific research.
The participants called for the establishment of networks in human and social sciences, stressing that researchers must work with regional experts on local issues.
The speakers also explored ways of mobilizing researchers and how to encourage and motivate them to create journals for human and social sciences, underlining the need for a program to support publications.
The participants shed light upon the role the Moroccan diaspora can play in research and innovation in the field, highlighting the need for more mobility and coordination with the diaspora.
Members of the Moroccan diaspora need more incentives to come back home, the conference participants said.
Researchers and innovations require opportunities and institutions in Morocco that match those in their host countries. The participants highlighted the importance of more cooperation projects with universities abroad and a foundation of the Moroccan diaspora.
The conference’s organizers agreed on the importance of scientific research, and the speakers insisted on restructuring the field.
Reforms should include a greater budget allocated for the scientific research and simplified administrative and financial management procedures, as well as regular national calls for projects once a year on a fixed date, the speakers underlined.
The videoconference was in line with the continuation of the university’s scientific activities amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
