Royal Air Maroc, UM6P Join Forces to Develop Innovative Solutions

Rabat – Morocco’s national carrier Royal Air Maroc and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Benguerir joined forces to launch an “Open Innovation” program aimed at developing innovative products and services for the company’s customers.

Entitled “RAM Digital Open Innovation,” the program’s approach relies on close collaboration between students, researchers, and the global ecosystem of startups to develop creative solutions, improve the customer experience, and respond to Royal Air Maroc’s challenges.

The program entered an advanced phase last weekend in Marrakech with the selection of finalists during the so-called “Demo Day” stage.

A total of 18 projects participated in bootcamp coaching sessions between June 26 to July 2.

Seven startup projects, two Royal Air Maroc employee projects, and one UM6P student project were selected on the basis of their contribution to the development of the company and its digital transformation, the national carrier said in a statement.

After choosing the most promising projects, the program is now set to enter the operational phase.

The developed solutions can also be employed by the partner airlines of the Oneworld Alliance, to which Royal Air Maroc belongs.

In 2020, the Moroccan national carrier and the kingdom’s largest airline became the first African member of the global airline alliance.

Oneworld is an airline alliance that seeks to be the first choice for the world’s frequent international travelers.

The program was first presented to UM6P’s students and researchers and Royal Air Maroc’s partners back in April.

A month later, the team in charge of the program visited Silicon Valley in the US, Singapore, and Geneva to hold a series of meetings with actors from the global startup ecosystem.

As a result of the international travels, the program has received more than 300 applications with project pitches, 200 of which came from startups from over 40 countries.

The rest of the applicants were Moroccan students and employees from Royal Air Maroc.

The national carrier repeatedly expressed interest in expanding her offers between Europe and Africa in a bid to improve the tourism situation post-COVID.