A collaboration between Keele University and higher education partners in Morocco was celebrated at a recent event hosted by the UK Government at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.  

Professor Mariangela Palladino, Dean of Research in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, represented Keele University as a key player around the table at the 5th annual UK-Morocco Higher Education Commission earlier this month, celebrating the strong relationship between the two countries in higher education, scientific research, quality assurance, and transnational education.  

Professor Palladino said: “Building on my longstanding ties in Morocco and the Maghreb, I am excited to be leading on these discussions and shaping the agenda. Keele University is in a unique position to lead the way as Morocco and the MENA represent exciting opportunities for sustainable research partnerships and transnational education.” 

The event saw a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the British Council Morocco and Morocco’s Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, while Professor Palladino presented the outcomes of a project she led funded by the British Council. 

The project, titled ‘South-North co-learning: Morocco-UK synergies for research capabilities', aimed to enhance opportunities for international partnerships between Keele and Moroccan Higher Education Institutions and for knowledge exchange. Significant outcomes from the project include collaborations over research development training, innovation, research development, and research mobility.   

The event was presided over by the two countries’ ambassadors in the UK and Morocco; his Majesty’s Ambassador to Morocco – Simon Martin – commended Keele’s institutional partnership with the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, and said he was “pleased to see how Keele is leading on R&I in these bilateral discussions. I look forward to seeing next steps”.   

The event was also an opportunity to showcase bilateral successes between the UK and Morocco; the institutional partnership involving Keele University and the Moroccan Ministry featured in the programme as the sole and prime example in research partnerships.