The International University of Andalusia signs a collaboration agreement with the Abelmalek Essaadi University of Morocco
The International University of Andalusia (UNIA) and the Abelmalek Essaadi University of Morocco have signed a collaboration agreement to boost relations between the two universities and promote internationalisation, research and knowledge transfer.
The rector of the International University of Andalusia, José Ignacio García, and the president of the Abelmalek Essaadi University, Bouchta El Moumni, signed this agreement during the 1st Spanish-Moroccan University Forum, organised by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
In addition, the Rector of the UNIA participated in a round table on academic mobility, in which he stated that the International University of Andalusia "is committed to mobility as a pillar to strengthen academic ties between Spain and Morocco".
García attended the Forum, together with a delegation of Spanish rectors under the umbrella of Crue Universidades Españolas.
I Spanish-Moroccan University Forum
The aim of this first meeting of Spanish and Moroccan universities was, as the president of Crue and rector of the Universitat Jaume I, Eva Alcón, explained during its inauguration, "to strengthen academic and research cooperation" between the university systems of both countries. The inauguration was also attended by the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant; the Moroccan Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, and the representative of the presidents of Moroccan universities, Professor Mohammed Larbi Kerkeb.
Minister Diana Morant highlighted the commitment of Spain and Morocco to "collaborate and promote the mobility of students and teaching and research staff" and recalled that in 2022, the last year for which complete data is available, there were 7,500 students of Moroccan nationality enrolled in Spanish universities, of whom 4,400 resided in Spain and 3,100 in Morocco. All of them were enrolled in bachelor's, master's or doctoral degrees, or had come as part of mobility programmes. "This is a figure that reflects a significant growth of 67% over the last seven years," she added.
The minister also said that Spain and Morocco are moving towards models of joint degrees, the so-called double degree programmes, "a powerful tool for knowledge exchange and internationalisation". And she declared that both countries are working "together to turn research and innovation into the driving force of productive systems, and of societies that rely on their scientific and technological talent to face the challenges of the present and the challenges of the future together".
For his part, Minister Abdellatif Miraoui stressed the importance of strengthening bilateral collaboration, underlining the need to support researchers, teachers and student mobility, as well as research and innovation initiatives between the Kingdom of Morocco and Spain. At this meeting, Morant and Miraoui stressed the strategic importance of relations between the two countries, in the framework of the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation and the reinforced political dialogue derived from the Joint Declaration of 7 April 2002.