Morocco’s International University of Rabat (UIR) is now ranked first in Africa for the number of patents it has filed. The announcement was made on Tuesday in Salé by the university’s president, Noureddine Mouaddib, during its 15th anniversary event.
Since it opened in 2010, the university has focused strongly on new ideas and research. It has filed nearly 700 patents, and 20% of them were registered outside Morocco, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization. This makes UIR the top university in Africa for patent filings.
The university has also grown quickly. It now has more than 13,000 students, including 180 PhD students. So far, it has graduated 12,000 students and provided 20,000 professional training courses. More than 90% of graduates find a job within a year, most of them in Morocco.
UIR has worked to gain international recognition. Its Rabat Business School has two major international accreditations, AACSB and EQUIS. It is ranked 20th in the world by the Financial Times for management schools. Its engineering programmes are approved by ABET in the United States and EUR-ACE in Europe.
These approvals have helped the university attract foreign students. About 9% of degree students come from Europe, as well as Asia and North America. With more than 500,000 African students studying abroad, UIR says it wants to attract more of them.
The university is also expanding in Morocco. New campuses are being developed in Marrakech, Casablanca’s finance district and Nouaceur. An agreement with Aérocampus will create new courses linked to the aerospace industry, an important sector for the country.
