Chtouka Aït Baha: the National Higher School of Food Industries and Biotechnology of Biougra opens its first academic year

The wali of the Souss-Massa region, Saïd Amzazi, and the governor of the province of Chtouka Aït Baha, Mohamed Salem Sebti, accompanied by the president of Ibn Zohr University and the delegation with them, officially launched the new academic year at the National Higher School of Food Industries and Biotechnology in Biougra.

The opening of this specialised university institution comes as part of strengthening and diversifying Ibn Zohr University's educational offer, and broadening access to higher education across the region's different provinces, which enshrines territorial justice in training and strengthens the university's role as a lever of territorial development.

In an address for the occasion, the president of Ibn Zohr University highlighted that the creation of the National Higher School of Food Industries and Biotechnology represents a qualitative addition to the university's path, given the nature of the training it offers and its direct link to the needs of the economic and social environment.

He explained that this institution, distinguished by its specialisation in the fields of food industries and biotechnology, is likely to contribute to developing the specialised university offer and to responding to the challenges linked to the local economy, particularly in the province of Chtouka Aït Baha, which is one of the main hubs of agricultural activities and their related industries.

For his part, the wali of the Souss-Massa region considered that the opening of this institution represents a historic moment for the province, as it responds to a collective demand to strengthen the educational offer, and falls within an approach aimed at establishing a university hub able to keep pace with the economic and social transformations the province is experiencing.

Mr Amzazi highlighted that bringing this project into being was made possible thanks to the involvement of a number of stakeholders at regional and provincial level, while also underlining the prospects the institution offers for developing partnerships with international universities and institutions.

In turn, the governor of the province of Chtouka Aït Baha affirmed that the opening of the institution embodies a demand that has been present among the province's population for decades, linked to the ambition of creating a multidisciplinary university hub contributing to anchoring the knowledge economy and supporting the development dynamic the province is experiencing.

He added that the choice of the field of food industries and biotechnology matches the province's economic assets, marked by significant dynamism in agricultural production, marketing and processing industries, pointing to the need for specialised university training, support for scientific research and highly qualified human resources meeting labour-market needs.

Mr Sebti praised in this regard the efforts of the province's various stakeholders in advocating for this project and contributing to bringing it into being.

During this occasion, a presentation was given on the institution's educational roles and missions, which fall within Ibn Zohr University's aim of broadening its training offer and strengthening its openness to its socio-economic environment.

The school aims to respond to the growing needs of the labour market in the fields of food industries and biotechnology, by training a new generation of highly qualified engineers and supporting the transformations the agricultural sector is experiencing in the Souss-Massa region, particularly in the province of Chtouka Aït Baha.

The institution also offers specialised training in developing production chains in the field of food industries, scientific research, quality control and food safety, and keeping pace with modern techniques, thereby contributing to improving the quality of food products and strengthening their ability to face growing competition in the markets.

Benefiting from this training, for the current academic year, are 73 students, who receive theoretical and practical courses in a number of specialities related to food industries, biotechnology, quality control and environmental safety of products, and scientific research in the field of food industries, alongside other specialities supervised by specialised professors and experts.

The occasion concluded with a visit to the institution's various facilities and its theoretical and practical training units, where the equipment and the spaces dedicated to training were inspected.

This institution is expected to contribute to strengthening the university offer in the province of Chtouka Aït Baha, particularly in engineering and specialised technical training, and to supporting the labour market's needs in qualified human resources, thereby meeting the expectations of the region's economic fabric, especially companies operating in the agricultural sector and in processing and food industries.

Source: Hakaik24