Organizers

Our thematic school is organized in collaboration with renowned institutions committed to academic excellence and applied research.

Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P)

The Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), a leading Moroccan university, is dedicated to developing innovative solutions to the specific challenges of Africa and, more broadly, global issues. Focused on training and research, while cultivating close partnerships with the industrial sector, fostering innovation and entrepreneurial development, UM6P is resolutely committed to training a new generation of talent destined to shape the future of the African continent. It has a total student body of 7229, including 995 PhD students, with 40 different nationalities.

UM6P's philosophy is to serve the diverse needs of African economies. From its main campus in Benguerir, near Marrakech, and branches in Rabat, Laayoune, Paris, and Montreal, the University offers an innovative learning environment, inspiring innovation and entrepreneurship through its experimentation platforms and peer-to-peer learning.

With academic departments and research programs specializing in science and technology, business and management, the humanities and medicine, UM6P is an institution that aims to benefit not only the African continent, but the entire world, through a research approach geared towards solving global challenges.

College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at UM6P

The College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) is a center of excellence dedicated to education and research in sustainable agriculture, agroecology, soil sciences, fertilization, and environmental management. Its approach is based on scientific and technological innovation to address challenges related to food security, natural resource management, and ecological transition, with a particular focus on the specificities of the African continent. Through an experimentation-driven pedagogy, the College relies on applied research platforms, experimental farms, and cutting-edge laboratories, enabling students and researchers to develop solutions adapted to real-world conditions. The integration of an academic and industrial partnership network enhances its impact by fostering collaboration between researchers, experts, and entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector.

By training a new generation of engineers, researchers, and leaders, the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences actively contributes to transforming agricultural and environmental systems, supporting sustainable and resilient development in Africa and beyond.

Social Innovation Lab at UM6P

The Social Innovation Lab (SIL) at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University promotes disruptive and evolutionary social innovation, favoring an integrated, holistic and territorial approach. Anchored in a collective design methodology and a bottom-up dynamic, it co-constructs solutions with local communities and a wide range of stakeholders, with a strong social and environmental impact.

What sets SIL apart is its ability to establish genuine links with local populations, thanks to a detailed mapping of the territory and support based on the Growth Mindset. This relationship of trust facilitates everyone's active participation, and offers a sustainable, inclusive value chain that adapts to real needs on the ground.
Driven by an ambitious vision, SIL deploys its interventions in a variety of fields, such as education, digital inclusion, employability, entrepreneurship, rural development, food security, and the preservation and enhancement of cultural heritage. Through this diversity of actions, it contributes to profound and lasting social transformation, both in Morocco and throughout the African continent.

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University of Paris-Saclay

Located south of Paris, Université Paris-Saclay brings together five faculties, three IUTs, five grandes écoles, two associate universities and seven research organizations, forming a scientific cluster of excellence dedicated to research, education, innovation and student success. Its range of courses, from undergraduate to doctoral level, covers a broad spectrum of disciplines in science and engineering, life and health sciences, as well as the humanities and social sciences, with grandes écoles and continuing education programs.

Ranked as France's No. 1 university and among the world's top 20 in the ARWU rankings, it enjoys a strategic position that favors partnerships with major industrial groups, SMEs, start-ups and local authorities. This dynamic ecosystem reinforces its international reputation and its commitment to a more sustainable and innovative society.

Graduate School Economics & Management

Within the University of Paris-Saclay, the Graduate Schools are federative structures designed to strengthen the links between education and research within its component institutions and associate members (UEPS and UVSQ), by bringing together laboratories, master's programs, and doctoral schools around major disciplinary and interdisciplinary themes. They play a key role in the development of collaborative projects, the implementation of excellence in education, and interaction with socio-economic actors. The Graduate School Economics & Management at the University of Paris-Saclay brings together 12 research laboratories (including UMI SOURCE and UMR PSAE) and 11 master's programs, covering a wide range of issues related to the economic and managerial dimensions of major contemporary challenges.

Unité Mixte Internationale Soutenabilité et Résilience (UMI SOURCE)

The UMI SOURCE (UMI272 SOURCE) is an international laboratory specializing in development economics and geography, while also opening up to anthropology, sociology, and social psychology. Its main supervisory institutions are the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ) and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD). The structure includes three southern branches located in Ivory Coast, Madagascar, and Senegal. It promotes multidisciplinary approaches in its research projects as well as cooperative North-South collaborations among researchers from these four branches, ensuring representation from all of them in the unit’s governance bodies.

UMI SOURCE holds a complementary and unique position within the University of Paris-Saclay’s ecosystem, focusing on multidimensional studies of development, the environment, and sustainable development, as well as practicing a pluralist approach to economics. Beyond research projects and scientific positioning, UMI also fosters a strong doctoral dynamic, with 60 PhD students spread across Ivory Coast, France, Madagascar, and Senegal. They work on collaborative and multidisciplinary North-South projects, forming an international, inclusive, and dynamic network of young researchers.

Unité Mixte de Recherche en Économie Appliquée de Paris-Saclay (UMR PSAE)

The Joint Research Unit in Applied Economics (UMR PSAE) is a research unit affiliated with INRAE and AgroParisTech, integrated into the University of Paris-Saclay. Established in 2022, it was formed through the merger of the ALISS and Public Economics units and positions itself as a center of expertise in applied economics related to agricultural, food, and environmental issues.

UMR PSAE conducts research on public policies and their economic, social, and environmental impacts. Its studies focus on land use and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the dynamics of international trade in the face of climate change, and innovations in sustainable food systems and responsible consumption.