Creating opportunities in Morocco

The Université Euro-Méditerranéenne de Fès (UEMF) was created in 2012 with a focus on teaching and research excellence in science and technology. One of its objectives is to attract students and faculty members from Morocco, the Euro-Mediterranean basin and sub-Saharan Africa, thereby building academic, scientific and cultural bridges between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean. Initiated by King Mohammed VI of Morocco, it is a flagship project of the Union for the Mediterranean.

An EIB loan of EUR 70 million will help finance the construction of the university’s eco-campus. It will have capacity for over 6,000 students and close to 700 staff, including teaching and research premises, a sports area, library and other facilities and equipment. The creation of affordable student homes on campus on a massive scale (some 2,500 beds) – to be financed, built and operated by a private partner – complements the university’s policy of granting a large number of scholarships to talented students from deprived socio-economic backgrounds, which has helped UEMF to obtain a EUR 13 million grant from the European Union’s Neighbourhood Investment Fund (NIF).

While a good proportion of the university’s graduates are expected to make international careers in science and the humanities, the majority will increase the number of local engineers and bolster local employment, thereby creating professional opportunities in the Maghreb and releasing economic pressure in the region in the medium term.