École Polytechnique’s President accompanies delegation on official state visit to Morocco

Since welcoming its first Moroccan student in 1948, École Polytechnique has fostered strong academic and scientific partnerships with institutions in Morocco. This longstanding collaboration was highlighted by the invitation extended to École Polytechnique’s President, Laura Chaubard, to join the French presidential delegation on a state visit to Morocco from October 28 to 30, 2024.

05 Nov. 2024

International

Accompanying the presidential delegation on the official state visit to Morocco, Laura Chaubard, President of École This is anPolytechnique, visited Rabat from 28 to 30 October 2024. An occasion to take a closer look at the academic and scientific ties between École Polytechnique and Morocco.

In 1948, M'hamed Douiri became the first Moroccan student to enroll at École Polytechnique. Douiri later went on to hold several prominent positions in the Moroccan government, including Minister of Public Works and Minister of Economy and Finance.

Having performed exceptionally well in the entrance exam for the Ingénieur Polytechnicien program, the Moroccan students currently constitute the most represented foreign nationality at l’X. The institution counts 105 Moroccan students in the current promotions of its Ingénieur Polytechnicien program. A further dozen Moroccan students are enrolled in the Bachelor of Science program, and another ten in one of École Polytechnique’s Master of Science and Technology programs.

Since 2021, École Polytechnique is proud to be cooperating with the FIRSI Foundation, which regularly supports Moroccan students admitted to the Ingénieur Polytechnicien program.

Academic and scientific partnerships

Over the past twenty years, l’X has developed partnerships with several leading Moroccan institutions, including the University Mohammed VI Polytechnic (UM6P) and the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Rabat (also called Rabat School of Mines).

Mohammed VI Polytechnique University is part of the Green City urban development plan launched by King Mohammed VI in 2009, which aims to create a model city that promotes sustainability, research, and education for the country. Consequently, the collaboration between l’X and UM6P initially focused on energy transition and sustainable development, but is now being extended to additional fields such as data sciences.

Furthermore, École Polytechnique and UM6P have created the "Data Science and Industrial Process" chair to train students to develop innovative industrial processes based on data science. Supported by the Fondation de l'École Polytechnique and led by Éric Moulines, a researcher and professor at École Polytechnique, this chair includes a specialized program for engineering students with a complementary program tailored for teachers at UM6P.

toIn collaboration with Moroccan partners, X-EXED also offers training programs for senior executives in Morocco, focused on specific sectors, such as 'Entrepreneurship in Renewable Energy in Morocco' or 'Financial Engineering and Operations Research'.

A strong local alumni network

The association of former students from l’X in Morocco, called X-Maroc, counts over 300 members and is chaired by Jamal M'Hamdi (X1977), a former CEO of mining companies. École Polytechnique is proud of this strong local alumni community. Many of the alumni in Morocco have achieved remarkable careers and hold senior positions in both the public and private sectors. Despite their busy schedules, several alumni were able to seize the opportunity to meet with Laura Chaubard during her visit to Rabat.

Laura Chaubard, President of École Polytechnique, with alumni from the association X-Maroc in Rabat

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