Meet the North African partners

The SEED4NA consortium consists of fourteen partners of which nine are from the four North African partner countries targeted by the project: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

The Algerian partners involved in the project are the University of Oran 1 and the University of Sciences and Technologies Houari Boumediene (USTHB). Oran 1 University is one of the most important and the largest university in Algeria, where thousands of students are graduated every year in all disciplines. The university has five faculties, which are organized into 17 departments and more than 50 research centres and laboratories. The University of Oran 1 is an institution of higher education whose mission is to provide and promote education, training and scientific research. It has many academic programs at the Bachelor, Master and Doctorate level that vary from Sciences (computer science, physics, chemistry, mathematics), Biology, Medical sciences (medicine, dentistry, Pharmacy), Arabic literature and arts, Communication Science, Library Science, Islamic civilization, History. These programs have been developed to meet the needs of education, scientific research and industry.

USTHB is one of the oldest and well-known universities in Africa. It was in 1974 as a pole of higher education and research in science and technology fields. Since the foundation of USTHB, more than one hundred thousand students have studied at the university. The university offers three levels of education (Licence, Master, Doctorate) and courses are provided in five main areas: Science and Technology (ST), Computer Mathematics (MI), Sciences of the matter (SM), Natural Science and Life (SNV), and Earth Sciences and Astronomy (STU). Several entities of the UTHB are active in the field of Geographic Information Science and Technology (GI S&T), Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI) and Earth Observation (EO). The laboratory of Image processing and radiation (L.T.I.R.) is composed of four teams, focusing on the study of the low atmosphere and radar, geographical information system (SIG), processing and integration of geo-referenced data, 2D and 3D image analysis, radar imaging and fusion of multi-sources data.

Two Egyptian universities are participating in the SEED4NA projects: Alexandria University and Fayoum University. Alexandria University (AU) is one of the oldest and largest universities in Egypt, with about 25000 undergraduate and 4000 postgraduate students each year. The Faculty of Engineering (FOE) plays an important role in providing services and expertise to the society. This is realized through collaborative research and the establishment of new centres and labs, such as the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) lab, the Alexandria Renewable Energy Academy and Center (AREAC), the Environmental lab, the 3D modelling lab, the Virtual Reality lab (CAVE) and the FOE Research Group for Renewable Energy). Through these centres, labs and their facilities, FOE is massively engaged in disseminating planning and community-based involvement, as well as investigating solutions for sustainable issues at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.

Fayoum University is a governmental public university providing high quality academic programs at the Bachelors, Diploma, Masters and Doctoral levels. The university aims to provide academic excellence by preparing learners to think creatively, communicate effectively, engage in lifelong learning and behave ethically. The university includes 18 faculties and two institutes with around 27 000 students and about 2000 teaching staff members. The university has the ambition to widen its International educational programs and to achieve highest quality standards to be in harmony with the EU and international programs. The university has several researchers and teachers active in the field of GIS, Spatial Data, RS, (EO) and IT.

The Moroccan partners involved in the SEED4NA project are Ibn Zohr University and the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy & Veterinary Medicine. Ibn Zohr University  is a public institution of scientific, cultural and professional character that was established in 1989. Unique in its region, it is a major player and a driving force for the development of higher education and research in the Moroccan southern and Sahara Provinces. Its main purpose is to promote and reinforce research as a means of creating and renewing knowledge, the purpose of which is to promote the emergence of the intellectual, moral and cultural capacities of students in all fields of knowledge so that they demonstrate scientific, technological and artistic creativity as well as critical thinking. IZU is located at five university sites: in Agadir, Ouarzazate, Taroudant and Guelmim. With a student population of more than 75,000 UIZ is the largest university in Morocco by the number of students.

Created in 1968, the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy & Veterinary Medicine is a multidisciplinary polytechnic centre hosting several schools: Agronomy, Veterinary school, Agro-food industry, Horticulture, Topography – Geomatic Sciences and Rural engineering. IAV hosts 320 scientists and faculty members and 180 Technical staff – in 22 departments hosting different laboratories. Most of IAV scientists are graduated from foreign institutions and supported by international program mobility. They are involved in multidisciplinary international networks and collaborative research programs. In addition a large number of research-development projects are implemented in partnerships with European, African, and Mediterranean countries.

From Tunisia, three partners are participating in SEED4NA: Carthage University, the University of Jendouba and the Regional Center For Remote Sensing Of North Africa States. Carthage University is a Tunisian Education and Research university, of which The National Institute of Agronomy (INAT) is the entity that is participating in the SEED4NA project. The INAT is an educational and research institute established both under the supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture (IRESA) and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (UCAR). It was founded in 1898 and formed, since its creation, more than 4000 agronomic engineers in several specialties (i.e. Rural engineering, Water and Forestry, Vegetal production, Animal production, Fisheries and Environment, Crop Protection, Economics and Management of Enterprises Agriculture and Agro-Food Industry).

The University of Jendouba is the university of the North-West Tunisian region including 13 academic institutions: 1 faculty, 2 higher schools of engineering, and 10 higher institutes in the governorates of Jendouba, Beja, Kef and Siliana. The participation of UJ in this project will be through the Higher School of Engineers of Medjez El Bab (ESIM). ESIM was founded in 1964, under the name of the College of Rural Equipment of North Africa at Medjez el Bab, which became Higher School of Engineers of Rural Equipment of Medjez El Bab (ESIER) in 1978. Since 2017, it has become the Higher School of Engineers of Medjez El Bab ESIM. ESIM is one of the main Tunisian institutions of training, research and technological transfer, in the field of water resources and agricultural mechanization.

The Regional Center For Remote Sensing Of North Africa States (CRTEAN) is a regional association in North Africa, which mission is to encourage the use of GI and remote sensing techniques and systems in the areas of sustainable development and scientific research, the transfer of technology and capacity building for the member states. The Center’s activities focus on scientific and technical cooperation, capacity building and joint projects.