Intercontinental higher education consortium launched

An international consortium of elite higher education institutions has been launched in Fes, Morocco, dedicated to “promoting education, culture, research, entrepreneurship and innovation on an intercontinental scale”.

CIUGE, the Intercontinental Conference of Universities and Grandes Écoles, was launched at the initiative of the Moroccan Sup’Management group of business schools, reported Libération of Casablanca.

Among participants at the inaugural meeting were Prince Michel Karatchevsky of Ukraine, honorary president of Sup’Management; Mohamed Ben Omar, Niger’s minister of higher education; José Antonio Almarza of the United States-based distance Euroamerican International University, a partner of Sup’Management; Mamadou Habib Diallo of the Mali Conference of Grandes Écoles, also representing Senegal, Burkina Faso and Benin; and Frédéric Dohou of the Network of Science and Technology Universities of Africa, representing 16 West African countries, reported AlgerparisWeb.

Other countries represented included Spain, Peru, France, Algeria and Mauritania, reported Libération.

The consortium, based in Fes, is managed by a board consisting of a president and vice-presidents for international relations, academic relations and the five geographical regions of Africa, Europe, North America, South America and Asia, reported Le Matin of Casablanca.

It also has commissions responsible for university governance, accreditation and recognition, partnership and professional integration, said Le Matin.

Abdesselam Idrissi Erkik, president of Sup’Management, said: “Certainly, there exists a number of groupings, but what we need today is a consortium of international reputation and scientific credibility, to propel higher education towards new perspectives and to drive the potential of partnerships to its furthest limits,” reported Libération.

“Opening on the African continent, with Maghrebi symbiosis, links with Europe and the rest of the world – America and Asia – spark off the need to set up regional, continental and intercontinental organisations in all fields – economic, social, political, cultural and others,” he said.

The aim of CIUGE, according to a statement cited by Libération, was to promote education, culture, research, entrepreneurship and innovation on an intercontinental scale, and to encourage progressive input and adoption of new global scientific and educational experiences to develop a new knowledge economy.

A difference from national and regional associations of higher education was that CIUGE would benefit from its international and intercontinental dimension, the diversity of its members, and huge opportunities for openings and exchanges in wider and more varied horizons, said the statement.

* This article is drawn from local media. University World News cannot vouch for the accuracy of the original reports.