Following successful establishment in France, UM6P is continuing its international expansion. By next year, two new branches will be established. Khalid Baddou, the Director of Institutional Affairs of the university, explains.
After UM6P France, what are the next steps for Mohammed VI Polytechnic University's international presence?
UM6P plans to open a new branch in Canada in 2024. This initiative, which we are currently putting in place, aligns with the same ambition: to engage with the ecosystem of science, technology, and innovation. Our goal is to establish connections with UM6P's research ecosystem, thus offering researchers, start-uppers, and innovators from the diaspora opportunities both in their host country and their country of origin, Morocco. This dynamic, rooted in UM6P's ambition since its inauguration, aims to provide a welcoming and mobilizing platform for scientists worldwide, offering them an equivalent level of research infrastructure, doctoral students, and applied research projects. The ultimate goal is to encourage them to return to Morocco and contribute to the country and the continent's development. Another step in UM6P's international expansion is the creation of an investment fund in the United States, based in San Francisco, called BIDRA. Its ambition is to connect with innovation and start-up ecosystems in the United States, and North America in general. Today, this investment fund invests in innovative start-ups in various fields such as agri-tech, biotech, water, energy, etc., aiming to accelerate innovations developed in Morocco by UM6P, the OCP group, focusing particularly on new areas where national expertise is not yet fully established.
This ambition for internationalization guides UM6P's development, and in our medium and long-term strategic plan, it will strengthen our excellence in science, technology, and innovation.
Any expansion projects planned in Africa?
Indeed, an ongoing project involves the establishment of a Digital Farming School in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, whose cornerstone was laid in June 2023. This innovative agricultural school, oriented towards agri-tech, is expected to be operational by the end of this year or early next year. It aims to provide young talents from Ivory Coast and Africa with practical learning experiences (learning by doing). In partnership with OCP Africa and other research and training institutes in Ivory Coast, this initiative strengthens UM6P's African commitment. It also offers a unique opportunity for young people on the continent to leverage the resources and opportunities created by the university through its various campuses in Morocco and worldwide. This project will also serve as a model, potentially replicated in other countries later on.
