Morocco’s Cadi Ayyad University of Marrakech (UCA) and South Korea’s Hoseo University recently launched the “ATLAS Innovation Hub” (Advanced Technology, Life Sciences & Applied Sciences Institute), a cooperation platform for research, innovation and the development of technological projects between the two countries.
The launch ceremony was held Tuesday in Asan, with HM King Mohammed VI’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Chafik Rachadi in attendance. Cadi Ayyad University President Blaïd Bougadir also took part, leading a delegation of senior university officials, alongside Hoseo University officials, local authorities and researchers.
The “ATLAS Innovation Hub,” an initiative led by Marouane Baslam, visiting professor at UCA, seeks to provide a structured framework for cooperation between universities, research centers, institutional partners, and industrial ecosystems.
The platform aims to promote research and development of innovative projects, student and researcher mobility, the incubation of technology startups, the transfer of industrial know-how, as well as direct investment opportunities in Morocco.
It will focus on several strategic fields selected for their transformative potential. These include intelligent systems and agricultural technologies, incorporating artificial intelligence, data infrastructure, the Internet of Things and precision agriculture, as well as biohealth (medical devices, digital health and cosmetics), through developing Moroccan natural resources combined with Korea’s advanced cosmetic formulation technology.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed on this occasion between Cadi Ayyad University and Hoseo University, paving the way for the implementation of initial joint projects in applied research, training, innovation, and technology transfer starting in the second half of 2026.
The roadmap for the “ATLAS Innovation Hub” includes launching joint research programs, progressively establishing technological platforms on the UCA campus, and ultimately founding a joint scientific and industrial cooperation center in Marrakech.
The Cadi Ayyad University delegation participating in the visit also included Vice-President Mohamed Hafidi, Dean of the Faculty of Sciences Lhassan El Mouden, Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy Mohamed Amine, and Head of the Biotechnology Department Abdelilah Meddich.