Uemf And Paris 1 Panthéon-sorbonne Inaugurate Shared International Campus In Fez

Fez — The Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez (UEMF) and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University officially inaugurated their Shared International Campus on Thursday, October 15, marking a new chapter in academic cooperation between Morocco and France.

The ceremony brought together UEMF President Prof. Mostapha Bousmina and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne President Prof. Christine Neau-Leduc, alongside university officials, academics, students, and representatives of the French diplomatic community.

The new campus, which marks Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne’s first initiative of its kind, will expand access to French academic programs in Morocco while strengthening research collaboration, student mobility, and joint doctoral training.

Speaking to Morocco World News (MWN) during the inauguration, both presidents highlighted the significance of establishing a permanent academic presence in Fez and the opportunities it creates for students across Africa and Europe.

A decade of cooperation takes a new direction

The inauguration marks ten years of cooperation between the two universities, a relationship that began in 2016 with a political science program allowing students to pursue a double degree.

In 2022, the institutions expanded their partnership by introducing a Franco-Moroccan business law master’s program, bringing Sorbonne Law School teaching to the UEMF campus.

The universities further consolidated their relationship in March 2023 through an agreement to strengthen academic and scientific cooperation.

Their partnership entered another phase in February 2026, when Neau-Leduc visited Fez with a delegation from Paris 1 to discuss the possibility of establishing a shared international campus.

During her address on Thursday, Neau-Leduc recalled how quickly Bousmina embraced the proposal.

She explained that she had arrived in February with an extensive argument prepared alongside Rémi Bazillier, Paris 1’s Vice President for International Relations, only for Bousmina to accept the proposal almost immediately.

The inauguration now gives that agreement a physical and institutional presence within UEMF’s Eco-campus.

“This marks the culmination of ten years of cooperation,” Neau-Leduc, President of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, told MWN.

She explained that the partnership already allows students to pursue the same academic programs offered in Paris, with equivalent academic standards, without necessarily relocating to France.

The new campus will also support additional degree programs, doctoral research, and academic exchanges between the two countries.

Bousmina places the partnership within centuries of intellectual history

In a characteristically erudite address, rich in historical and philosophical references, UEMF President Mostapha Bousmina placed the inauguration within a much longer history of intellectual exchange between Fez and Paris.

Rather than treating the ceremony solely as an institutional milestone, Bousmina drew connections between the two cities’ contributions to philosophy, education, and the transmission of knowledge.

He recalled the intellectual legacy of Al-Qarawiyyin University, which traces its origins to 859, and the medieval University of Paris, whose history dates to the 13th century.

Bousmina also invoked the philosophical debates surrounding Averroes and Thomas Aquinas, explaining how competing interpretations of Aristotle helped shape European intellectual thought.

Through these references, he presented the modern partnership as a continuation of a centuries-old exchange of ideas between the Mediterranean’s northern and southern shores.

“In a sense, we are bringing history back to life,” Bousmina said during his speech.

He also connected the inauguration to the renewed momentum in Franco-Moroccan relations following French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Morocco in 2024.

Beyond its historical importance, Bousmina emphasized the practical benefits of making French higher education more accessible to students who might otherwise face significant living expenses in Paris.

“Students from Morocco, Africa, or sub-Saharan countries who want to study in Paris now have the opportunity to do so here in Fez,” Bousmina, President of UEMF, told MWN.

He explained that students can pursue academic programs jointly developed by the two institutions while benefiting from UEMF’s facilities and international learning environment.

The president also highlighted the university’s multicultural character, noting that students representing 52 nationalities currently share its campus.

For Bousmina, this diversity represents more than an international recruitment achievement. It provides students with daily opportunities to encounter different cultures, traditions, and perspectives.

He argued that universities must not limit their mission to producing qualified graduates, but should also develop individuals capable of understanding differences and contributing to a shared future.

Eight doctoral grants and new programs

Among the ceremony’s most significant announcements, Neau-Leduc revealed plans to establish eight doctoral research grants through the partnership.

The grants will support young researchers working across the two institutions, with particular attention to artificial intelligence and its relationship with the humanities and social sciences.

Neau-Leduc stressed that the rapid development of artificial intelligence presents opportunities and challenges that require critical examination beyond technological disciplines.

She said researchers must consider its implications for society, professional life, and human knowledge while developing constructive responses to emerging technologies.

“We will have doctoral students from Paris and Morocco working together as part of a new generation of researchers worldwide,” Neau-Leduc told MWN, identifying artificial intelligence and the humanities and social sciences as central areas of collaboration.

The universities also plan to encourage joint doctoral supervision, allowing researchers to work with academic teams in both Fez and Paris.

Research residencies will provide another opportunity for faculty members to pursue scientific projects and develop new partnerships across disciplines.

Alongside these initiatives, Neau-Leduc announced that Morocco has accredited a new master’s program titled “Mediterranean and African Policies: Circulations, Migrations, Transitions.”

The program will explore contemporary political and social transformations across the Mediterranean and African regions, bringing together disciplines including political science, history, and sociology.

The universities intend to build on their existing political science and business law programs to develop a broader international academic offering.

An international campus built for the next generation

Neau-Leduc echoed this vision, stressing that Paris 1’s international strategy prioritizes partnerships rooted in existing universities rather than isolated campuses operating independently of their host countries.

She praised UEMF’s infrastructure, research facilities, and startup incubation ecosystem, describing the Fez campus as an environment that could also inspire developments at her own institution.

In her interview with MWN, she highlighted the facilities she had visited, including podcast and television recording studios and technologically equipped classrooms.

“We have just seen a podcast studio, a television recording studio, and classrooms equipped with everything needed to provide the best possible education,” she told MWN.

The president concluded her interview with an invitation to prospective students from Morocco and abroad.

“Come, come and join us in Fez, Morocco,” she said.

The ceremony also recognized the academics and administrative teams who contributed to the partnership’s development.

Bousmina paid particular tribute to political scientist Julien Fretel and law professor François-Xavier Lucas, who directs the Franco-Moroccan business law master’s program.

His historical reflections eventually gave way to humor when he joked about a disagreement with Lucas over football allegiances, revealing that he supports Paris Saint-Germain while his French colleague favors AS Monaco.

Neau-Leduc continued the exchange by suggesting a football tournament between students from both universities, offering a lighter example of the personal relationships that have developed through the partnership.

The ceremony concluded with the signing of the cooperation agreement between the two presidents, formally establishing the Shared International Campus.

As the institutions strengthen their collaboration, the initiative positions Fez as a destination for international education and research, connecting French academic expertise with Morocco’s growing role in African and Mediterranean higher education.

The inauguration marks not the conclusion of a ten-year partnership, but the beginning of a new phase intended to serve students and researchers for decades to come.

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