Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) officially inaugurated its new American Global Hub on Monday evening in New York, marking a major milestone in the university’s international expansion. With locations in both New York and Cambridge, Massachusetts, this hub is designed to bridge African ecosystems of research, innovation, and entrepreneurship with leading academic and industrial networks across North America.
This new initiative positions itself as a platform for deep scientific and technological collaboration, aligned with Africa’s long-term sustainability goals. UM6P aims to strengthen partnerships with top-tier U.S. universities, while also creating tangible opportunities for joint research initiatives, academic programs, and connections between African startups and North American investors.
Speaking at the launch event, UM6P President Hicham El Habti emphasized that the project reflects a strategic commitment to addressing Africa’s and Morocco’s structural challenges by investing in scientific excellence and meaningful innovation. He stressed the importance of building technological sovereignty in Africa—grounded in local realities, yet globally connected.
El Habti described the Global Hub as a two-way bridge. On one hand, it offers African entrepreneurs access to funding, industrial expertise, and cutting-edge technologies developed in the U.S. On the other, it provides a platform to adapt those innovations to African contexts, through collaborative efforts between researchers on both sides of the Atlantic.
The hub already boasts partnerships with leading institutions such as MIT, Stanford, Arizona State University, and Columbia Business School. These collaborations cover a wide range of high-impact fields, including climate-resilient agriculture, artificial intelligence, green energy, sustainable mining, and green hydrogen.
Mehdi El Khatib, director of the new hub, noted that the U.S. outpost is intended to foster a mutually beneficial space for exchange. The ultimate goal, he explained, is to integrate African talent into the global knowledge economy—without detaching them from their local environments.
He also announced the upcoming launch of two innovation immersion programs—one in Africa and one in the United States—that will complement the scientific collaborations already underway.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by Morocco’s ambassadors to Washington and the United Nations, Youssef Amrani and Omar Hilale, along with prominent figures from the American academic and business communities and members of the Moroccan diaspora.
