Marrakech – The University Mohammed VI Polytechnique (UM6P) and Tanger Med Group signed a new partnership agreement on Tuesday, launching the “AI Tanger Med” program.
This initiative mobilizes students from the 1337 MED campus to develop artificial intelligence solutions for real industrial challenges faced by companies within the Tanger Med ecosystem.
The program operates under the scientific guidance of UM6P’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory to ensure strong academic foundations while addressing practical operational needs.
Students work on concrete projects involving automation, data analysis, and cybersecurity – all directly connected to port, logistics, and industrial operations.
“The terrain becomes a classroom and puts innovation at the service of operational excellence,” states the joint press release from both organizations.
This approach creates a dual benefit: Tanger Med brings together its partners to formulate operational problems, while students gain an immersive, structured experience connecting their technical skills to industrial realities.
The agreement builds upon a successful collaboration that began in 2021 with the establishment of the 1337 MED campus in Martil near Tangier.
Today, this campus hosts nearly 400 students trained through a unique model in Morocco based on project learning, mutual assistance, and autonomy. Without traditional lectures or professors, students develop problem-solving skills through collaborative projects.
This partnership propels the North African country’s digital landscape forward alongside other technological initiatives.
Earlier in July, the Ministry of Digital Transition held the first national conference on artificial intelligence under the theme “An Efficient and Ethical AI Strategy Serving Our Society.”
During this conference, Digital Transition Minister Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni declared that “integrating AI into the national strategic horizon is a prerequisite for sovereignty.”
She asserted that AI must be viewed “not as a subsidiary technical solution, but as a fundamental institutional responsibility.”
The government has recently launched several initiatives to position Morocco as a regional leader in AI. On July 22, a protocol agreement between government ministries, the Moroccan Investment and Export Development Agency (AMDIE), and the French group, Onepoint, established a data and AI excellence center in the Casablanca-Settat region.
The project plans to recruit 500 Moroccan engineers over four years, strengthening expertise in AI, middleware, and data management.
Additionally, the Ministry of Digital Transition signed partnerships with UM6P in early July to advance research in data centers and digital sovereignty as part of the “Morocco Digital 2030” national strategy.
