Morocco’s UM6P Hosts Delegation From Top Israeli University to Boost Cooperation

Rabat – Two years after signing the first Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) hosted on Monday a delegation from Israel’s University of Jerusalem to boost cooperation.

According to a statement from the UM6P, the visit aims to assess standing cooperation and explore new means of collaboration.

In a LinkedIn post, the Moroccan university announced hosting an “Israeli delegation led by Prof. Tamir Sheafer, Rector of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and His Excellency Yossi Gal, Vice President for Advancement and External Relations.”

The meeting is “part of the MoU signed between both universities in 2021.” The hosting presents an “opportunity to make a positive assessment of the cooperation between the two institutions and to identify new development projects in which each of the universities can contribute with its expertise and know-how for joint research projects,” the post reads.

The two universities signed the MoU in 2021 to promote academic collaboration and organize student and academic staff exchanges for joint research and collaborative degrees.

According to the details of the agreement quoted in a UM6P statement, both universities are committed to “innovation on a global scale” and will collaborate on areas of mutual interest, namely agriculture, business, pharmacology, natural sciences, mathematics, and computer engineering.

With the MoU, UM6P has become the first Moroccan university to collaborate with an Israeli institution following the Abraham Accords.

UM6P’s President Hicham El Habti said that the agreement paves the way for “joint high-level research activities.” In addition, the collaboration acts as a platform for “academic exchanges where faculty and students will benefit from the expertise of both institutions in sciences and technology,” El Habti added.

The agreement further set in place a framework for the two universities to exchange publications and academic materials, and mutual access to PhD and master’s programs for students from both institutions.

The MoU also covers the creation of online education and information-sharing media. Under the agreement, both institutions had pledged to continue to consolidate collaboration with regular meetings and visits.