UM6P to Host ‘Week of Science’ in Laayoune, Benguerir Campuses

Rabat – Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) will host the “Week of Science” from May 28 to June 5, with the event set to feature multidisciplinary scientific conferences aimed at shedding light on recent innovative trends.

After a successful edition last year, the UM6P is hoping to further highlight the most impactful scientific discoveries through a series of conferences, panels, and workshops to address emerging health challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year’s edition coincides with the 200th birthday of the French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur, renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization.

The UM6P will organize the first “Week of Science” at its Laayoune campus between May 28-29, with the presence of several panelists such as Fouad Laroui, Gabriel Makla, Mohammed Maouhoub, and Hassan Talibi.

UM6P’s School of Medical Sciences (ISSB-P) will organize the Bicentenary of Louis Pasteur as a kickoff of the Week of Science, with a two-day selection of lectures, conferences and projections, the university said in a Linkedin post.

The two-day event will mainly focus on health- and society-related topics as well as astronomy and philosophy of sciences, in addition to hosting a music and poetry concert of the Hassani music, a musical style that has been long rooted in the Sahrawi culture in southern Morocco.

Meanwhile, UM6P’s Benguerir campus will host the “Week of Science” from May 30 to June 5, under different themes that entail the role of social science, political science, anthropology, and other scientific study areas.

UM6P’s President Hicham El Habti will be attending the renowned event alongside Abdellatif Miraoui, Minister of Higher Education and Ryad Mezzour, Minister of Industry.

Andre Azoulay, senior adviser to king Mohammed VI, will also be hosting a conference on the first day of the event.

Amid the emerging need to adopt innovative approaches to meet international standards, panelists will debate over the benefits and the challenges of artificial intelligence, the ethics of transhumanism, and human enhancement technologies.

During last year’s “Week of Science” conferences, attendees and students were engaged in discussions about several scientific approaches from Islam’s perspective to tackle the ambiguities surrounding religion and science.