“It would be perfect to capture what we have in the field of education” | Atalayar

Relations between Spain and Morocco transcend historical, geographical or political boundaries. In recent decades, parties have formed alliances in various fields that act as bridges between societies. One of these meeting points has been precisely the academic sphere, where Morocco and Spain have been able to combine methods, fields of research and educational practices to improve university education, in this case through the Andalusian autonomous community.

Academic representatives from both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar had the opportunity to compare their views. Andalusian Regional Government and “Atalayar” magazine organized a forum in Seville on Tuesday in cooperation with the Three Cultural Foundation and the International Press Club. “Andalusia, Spain-Morocco Euro-Mediterranean Junction”A space for the deepening of Spanish-Moroccan relations.

Randa Jebrouni, research professor at the Department of Spanish Studies at Abdelmalek Essaadi University in Tetouan, university professor and head of international projects at the same university, Jamal Eddine Stitou El Messari and Arturo Chica Pérez, vice-rector for internationalization at the International University of Andalusia (UNIA), discussed various Spanish-Moroccan university collaboration initiatives During the dialogue moderated by the journalist Carmen Beamonte, the information director of Canal Sur radio.

Under the hood “University cooperation: stimulating Spanish-Moroccan talent”, Jebrouni listed dozens of cases of cooperation in this field since the beginning of the century. “Only from 2007 to 2016, a total of 176 actions were held from Spanish universities in Morocco. A large part of them came, especially from Andalusia University,” said the professor of the Department of Spanish Studies. initiating development and research programs on scientific or social issues.

Messari highlighted “almost three decades of academic cooperation” between Spanish and Moroccan university centers., the admission of Moroccan university students by the University of Cadiz can be cited as an example. According to University Professor Abdelmalek Essaadi, El Messari emphasized various Spanish-Moroccan projects and initiatives, although he insisted on explaining for the first time that the University is “the only center that exists in the north of Morocco” that is publicly owned.

Abdelmalek Essaadi University is spread over six cities “with 10% of Morocco’s population, with an activity rate of 46%.” “Economically, it is the second most important region of Morocco after Casablanca. This explains why this center is one of the main institutions that collaborate with internationalization programs and universities in Spain and Andalusia.

Arturo Chica Pérez explained to other speakers that his center is at the service of the Andalusian regional government “as an instrument of internationalization”. Therefore, there is close cooperation with Moroccan universities, because most of the students are of foreign origin. Moreover, they do not work alone, but in collaboration with other universities in the region. “Postgraduate courses [la seule catégorie de son offre académique] it is inter-university”, said the vice-rector of the International University of Andalusia (UNIA).

El Messari added to the words of Chika Perez Abdelmalek Essaadi University collaborates with UNIA “through summer courses, publications, joint conferences and special trainings”.. Meanwhile, the Spanish professor recalled that this university cooperation was opened in 2016 and resumed in 2021 after a four-year break. It is currently valid in 2022.

“During the pandemic, we offered a free virtual course at the International University of Andalusia to train teachers in the use of new technologies. 150 professors from Moroccan universities have registered”For 2023, Chica Pérez added, proposing to organize a “triangular meeting on water management with Latin American universities”. The proposal was approved by the interlocutors.

For El Messari, “it would be perfect to get back what we had” before the hiatus caused by the breakdown of bilateral relations.. Chica Pérez made light of the matter, noting that they were the first “when Abdelmalek crossed the border in May to meet his colleagues from Essaadi University.” In fact, after this visit, an agreement was signed on the resumption of cooperation.

Beamonte praised the university’s “protagonist” role., but in fact Spanish-Moroccan academic cooperation goes beyond this. As Jebrouni notes, “Morocco has the most Cervantes institutes in the world, six to be exact, and Spain allocates 15 million euros to cultural activities and research in Morocco.” El Messari added that “Spanish is starting to be introduced as a lingua franca” in educational centers in the North African country. There is a future.