Casablanca – The International University of Rabat (UIR) and Cisco inaugurated Morocco’s first Cisco EDGE Center today, opening a facility that will focus on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, training, certification and research.
UIR President Noureddine Mouaddib described it as the first center of its kind in North Africa and Francophone Africa.
The center forms part of Cisco’s global Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program and marks the first Moroccan initiative under the global scheme. Mouaddib said the project followed two years of work with Cisco teams in San Francisco.
It will serve students across Morocco, not only those enrolled at UIR, as well as faculty members, researchers and companies. He described its mission as “training, certification, innovation and research.”
Mouaddib said the center represents the next stage in a university strategy that began in 2010 with programs in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and Big Data. UIR’s engineering school now trains around 300 students in these fields in each graduating class.
The university also works with France’s National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) on research that includes Frugal AI.
A center to connect training with research
Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation Minister Azzeddine El Midaoui said the center supports Morocco’s effort to build digital sovereignty by developing local skills and technological capacity.
“Digital sovereignty is not decreed; it is built through the training of talent and the adoption of technologies by our institutions,” he said.
El Midaoui said the ministry had made AI and digital technology priorities in higher education, including through new degree programs in AI, data science and cybersecurity.
He also said a new university teaching framework would introduce a mandatory AI module for students across all disciplines, starting this academic year. AI, he said, should no longer remain the preserve of computer scientists.
The minister said the center would offer international certification pathways through Cisco Networking Academy, alongside high-performance computing infrastructure for AI experimentation.
Students and researchers will be able to develop, test and validate solutions, then turn research into publications, patents, prototypes and, eventually, startups.
Cisco Executive Vice President Fran Katsoudas said public-private partnerships help drive progress and praised UIR’s work with the company. She said Cisco was looking to bring the region’s first AI pod to the center, while identifying cybersecurity, networking and collaboration as key areas for cooperation. She also said Cisco wanted to reach as many students in Rabat as possible.
Cisco reports 245,000 learners in Morocco
Cisco Morocco Country Leader Meryem Mdaghri Alaoui said the EDGE Center would bring together technology, education and innovation and help prepare Moroccan talent for opportunities linked to AI.
According to Cisco’s FY2026 Morocco report shared at the event, the Networking Academy has reached 245,000 learners since its launch, including 33% women. It trained 51,000 learners in fiscal 2026, of whom 26% were women.
The program had 193 active instructors, including 19% women, and 104 partner entities offering courses. Cisco reported $41.3 million in in-kind contributions to the program in Morocco since its inception.
The academy offers courses in cybersecurity, networking, AI and data science, programming, IT and digital literacy. Its global catalog includes 90 courses in 24 languages and supports 28 certifications.
CDG Director General Khalid Safir said digital infrastructure, data, AI and cybersecurity now play a strategic role in economic growth and national sovereignty. He said CDG managed nearly MAD 370 billion ($37.7 billion) in assets and pursued a transformation strategy through 2030.
He added that CDG had backed an AI center of excellence and a next-generation security operations center. He described the Cisco facility as a platform where students, researchers, businesses and institutions could work together on practical solutions.
UIR’s director said the university has more than 11,000 students, over 13,000 graduates and more than 80 patent filings. He also cited a 95% graduate employability rate.
A US Embassy representative described the project as another investment in the Morocco-US relationship, bringing American technology together with UIR’s research and student talent.
