Kamal Oudrhiri: STM School Develops Innovation, 21st Century Skills

Rabat – Kamal Oudrhiri, a Moroccan American scientist working at NASA, gave a keynote speech during the inauguration of STM School in Fez, saying the school should help students “develop innovation and 21st-century skills.”

Stressing the importance of what he called “fundamental skills,” he expressed his hope that the new school will help its students not only grasp theoretical concepts, but also develop practical skills important in real life.

Official inauguration of STM School in Fez

“The youth have to be taught about the real world,” the scientist said. “We need to teach them the important skills that will help them to succeeded in their careers.”

According to the scientist, these skills will be crucial for Moroccan youth to compete with labor from other cities and countries.

The school was inaugurated on Saturday, May 7.

The school will start operation in the 2022-2023 school season.

Preparing Moroccan youth for the future

Detailing struggles from his own experience in the US, Oudrhiri said his hope is for STM School’s use of the Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pedagogical approach to make it easier for its students to integrate in international workplaces.

“Personally, when I came to the US in the late eighties, I faced challenges in science and technology classes that required laboratory experiments,” he said. “This is because Moroccan education at the time focused more on theoretical teaching and less on practical experience.”

With its unique, STEM-driven approach, STM School is set to play an important role in preparing the Moroccan youth for the challenges of the future, he argued, stressing: “I am very proud to participate in this vision.”

Technical and Development Director, Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Aziz Daouda

Oudrhiri traced the historical birth of STEM education in the Arab world to Ibn Khaldun, the famous scholar who resided in Fes, detailing that his book Al Muqaddimah (The Introduction) puts great emphasis on the importance of critical thinking skills.

Addressing the future of automation and artificial intelligence, Oudrhiri said he believes technological advancements will only help create more jobs, not less of them.

Former Minister of Tourism Lahcen Haddad attending the inauguration ceremony of STM School

Lahcen Haddad with the school’s founder and president, Samir Bennis.

“As we have learned from the pandemic, work will also be done across great distances in the future as a rule,” he added, stressing STM School’s role and potential in an increasingly globalized economy.

Oudrhiri praised the initiative of the school, predicting that it will be the catalyst for a change in the Moroccan educational system as a whole and stressing that today’s students cannot be taught with the same methodologies that were used to teach previous generations.

Samir Bennis, the school’s founder, with several Moroccan figures at the inauguration.

Kamal Oudrhiri is a planetary research scientist and a technical manager. Over the last two decades, Oudrhiri has served in key roles in several projects and missions at NASA, including missions to Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Moon, Earth, Pluto and the international space station.

Fez’s STM School is the first in Morocco to adopt the STEM approach, which integrates scientific subjects at the heart of the program to build a more cohesive educational curriculum.

President and founder of STM School in Fez Samir Bennis giving his speech

“For those who are not familiar with this concept, STEM is an educational approach born in the United States with the creation of the NASA over 60 years ago and was developed over the years to become one of the most sought after educational approach in the US,” the school’s founder and president Samir Bennis said at the launching ceremony on May 7.

Recent reports, including from the UN, have cited STEM education as an important step in individual development, and a necessary part of students embracing change and innovation.

STM School will also teach in a tri-lingual setting, with English at the core of its system alongside French and Arabic. For Bennis, proficiency in English is no longer a luxury in today’s world as the language provides more opportunities than any other language in today’s globalized environment.

STM School: Morocco’s First STEM Education Institution Officially Opens in Fez

The school opens at a time when English is becoming more popular among Morocco’s youth. Recent reports have concluded that mastering English is increasingly important for competitiveness in the global environment.

The STEM approach and English language teaching, among other factors, all serve to distinguish STM School from others in Morocco, Bennis said, pledging that all activities at the school will be tailored toward developing critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving skills from an early age.