Innovative Pedagogies COIL Workshop series: Designing a COIL Course or Module

The 1st African-European CIVIS Forum for Research and Education strives to leverage on the growing role of universities as proactive agents for global solidarity, sustainability, and inclusive development, as well as engines of transformation and joint knowledge production. We showcase African-European cutting-edge research addressing key societal challenges, encourage and codevelop new project ideas and educational offers, and engage with societal stakeholders across Africa and Europe in co-creating impactful solutions. In mutual trust, CIVIS universities across both continents reaffirm their shared responsibility.

The Forum unites interdisciplinary and transcontinental perspectives in a stimulating exchange via mixed panel discussions, tandem talks, and interactive poster pitches. Contributions address the added value of research collaboration with civil organisations and other non-academic actors, ways to build a decolonised African/European academic partnership, strategies to deal with the polycrisis in a complex world, ways to preserve our heritage of the future and pathways towards transregional sustainable development. Further topics include transcultural narratives and migrant storytelling, fostering participatory action research in vulnerable context, building transnationality through Open Labs, sharing joint African / European viewpoints on epidemiology, cultivating language beyond learning, and other more …!

The Africa Charter for Transformative Research Collaborations, co-initiated by the African Research Universities Alliance (ARUA), articulates twelve principles and six aspirations for policy change, pushing the transformative ambition of research, redefining global research partnership, and re-balancing the global academic system. Building on the presence of the CIVIS Research Council, the Forum wants to find answers to the question, how our alliance can further contribute to progressive change in the spirit of the Charter and what implications the Charter has for research collaboration and intercontinental knowledge co-creation in CIVIS.

Hassan II University of Casablanca (UH2C) is a major public research university located in Morocco’s economic capital. The academic foundations of the institution date back to 1975, while its current institutional configuration is the outcome of a strategic merger with Hassan II University of Mohammadia in 2014. UH2C comprises of 18 institutions divided between six campuses across Casablanca and Mohammedia, The university hosts a community of approximately 143,000 students who are enrolled in a variety of Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral programmes representing a wide spectrum of disciplines within exact sciences, technology, health sciences, arts, humanities, law, economics, and management. The languages of instruction are primarily Arabic and French, with a strong multilingual orientation. UH2C is supported by a dynamic research and innovation ecosystem structured around 99 laboratories and 10 Thematic Centers of Research and Innovation, providing a solid foundation for interdisciplinary and transnational collaboration.

The university has developed a strong international visibility through more than hundreds of cooperation agreements worldwide and sustained participation in major EU-funded programmes, including Erasmus+, Horizon 2020, and FP7. Within this framework, UH2C plays a central enabling role in the organization and hosting of the 1st African-European CIVIS Forum for Research and Education in Casablanca. 
As an associate member of the CIVIS Alliance, the university contributes actively to the Forum’s scientific coordination, institutional dialogue, and logistical organization, fostering inclusive spaces for co-creation and joint agenda-setting between African and European partners. Reflecting its commitment to equitable and balanced intercontinental cooperation, UH2C ensures concrete support for participation by covering accommodation and onsite hospitality for partner institutions from Africa, thereby facilitating meaningful engagement and long-term collaboration. Through this leadership, UH2C reinforces the CIVIS ambition to transform shared challenges into joint solutions and to anchor African-European academic partnerships in mutual trust, reciprocity, and sustainable impact.

Find out more about UH2C at: www.univh2c.ma 

Welcome to Casablanca (or ‘Casa’, because you will hear that more often than the full name)!
Located on the Atlantic coast of northwestern Africa, Casablanca is an African city whose development has been shaped by sustained historical, cultural, and institutional influences from Europe. This dual character, African in context and experience, yet marked by European encounters, creates a shared and accessible space for participants coming from both African and European countries.

Casablanca, known over time as Anfa, Casa Branca, and Casablanca, is the largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco and a place shaped by many layers of history.

From its Berber and Phoenician origins, through Portuguese, Spanish, and French influences, the city has continuously reinvented itself, gradually emerging as Morocco’s main economic centre and one of its most cosmopolitan urban spaces. 
Over the years, Casablanca has drawn academics, professionals, entrepreneurs, and artists, establishing itself as the country’s main gateway to global trade, finance, and higher education. This long process of transformation is visible in the city’s diverse population and distinctive urban landscape, where traditional Moroccan forms coexist naturally with Art Deco, modernist, and contemporary architecture. Moving through Casablanca, one senses clear shifts in atmosphere from one area to another.

From the monumental presence of Hassan II Mosque overlooking the Atlantic, to the dense streets of the Old Medina of Casablanca, and the calm, orderly alleys of the Habous Quarter, where craftsmanship and neo-traditional design meet. Casablanca has also occupied a lasting place in the global imagination through cinema, its name becoming legendary with the 1942 film Casablanca, while locally, its historic movie theatres reflect a deep and enduring relationship with film culture. Casa is a city that welcomes ambition and constant movement, it draws people in, and over time, invites them to find their own place in a city shaped as much by those who pass through it as by those who chose to stay.

Hassan II Mosque: One of the largest mosques in the world, dramatically located on the Atlantic Ocean and a major architectural landmark.

Old Medina of Casablanca: A dense historic quarter offering a glimpse into the city’s older urban fabric, markets, and everyday life.

Habous Quarter: Also known as the New Medina, combining traditional Moroccan architecture with 20th-century urban planning.

Villa des Arts: A contemporary art space hosting exhibitions, talks, and cultural events.

Ain Diab Corniche: A lively seaside promenade with beaches, cafés, and restaurants, popular both day and evening.

For more information about Casablanca, please visit the official city website at https://www.casablancacity.ma/fr

For those who wish to see more of Morocco during their stay, several cities are easily accessible from Casa by train:

- Visit to Rabat: Approximately 1 to 1.5 hours by train. Morocco’s capital city, known for its administrative institutions, historic sites, and coastal setting.

- Visit to Marrakech: Approximately 2.5 to 3 hours by train. A major cultural destination, famous for its historic medina, architecture, and vibrant public spaces.

- Visit to Fes: Approximately 4 to 4.5 hours by train. Renowned for its medieval medina and long-standing role as a centre of learning and scholarship.

MOHAMED SEKKAT UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

Located in the heart of the university campus on the El Jadida road, the Mohamed Sekkat University Library (BUMS) is a centre of excellence dedicated to study, research, and innovation. Designed to provide a comfortable and stimulating environment, BUMS caters to the diverse needs of students, faculty, and researchers.

The most convenient way to get there is by taking a red petit taxi (Small taxis are colour coded by city: red in Casablanca, blue in Rabat, beige in Marrakech…)

Please make sure the meter is turned on, as this is the fare you should pay.

Alternatively, you may use the inDrive app.

There is no tram stop directly next to the library; however, the tram can bring you close to the area, with the final part of the journey completed by taxi or on foot.

Tramway website: https://www.casatramway.ma/8MAD/ticket

Check the website for maps and routes.

Map Link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Z32mrZ15SgmNjRAR6