Rabat – The International University of Rabat (UIR) marked its 15th anniversary today with a press conference celebrating its major achievements, rapid growth, and international distinctions. University leaders presented key results from the past decade and a half, as well as the institution’s plans for the coming years.
Speaking at the press conference, UIR President Noureddine Mouaddib said the university’s communication strategy has always been based on sharing concrete achievements rather than frequent appearances. “Often, people say we don’t communicate enough. But our strategy is to communicate on results,” he explained. “Today, we are very happy to share with you 15 years of results, 15 years of effort, and 15 years of work.”
Strong growth since 2010
Mouaddib recalled UIR’s beginnings in temporary offices in Technopolis, where the project was first presented during a small press conference. He emphasized the symbolic importance of the university’s first milestone: “What I call the act of birth of the university was the laying of the first stone by His Majesty in September 2010. Without this, I don’t know if the university would have had the momentum it has today.”
The university had originally committed to reaching 5,000 students within 10 years. UIR surpassed this target and is now expanding much faster. According to Mouaddib, “Next year, we will already be above 10,000 students, and by 2027-2028 we will reach 11,000 students, maybe even more.”
Since its creation, UIR has welcomed nearly 20,000 students and has already graduated more than 10,000. Some alumni have become successful at the international level, the president noted. He shared the example of a graduate from the first cohort who is now a multimillionaire in Los Angeles and author of the book “How to Make a Million Dollars in One Year.”
A project with a social mission
Mouaddib stated that from the beginning, the university aimed not only to meet international standards, but also to serve as a “social elevator.” “One of the motivations of the project was how to give access to excellent training to young people who cannot afford to go abroad,” he said.
Today, 40% of UIR students benefit from partial scholarships. “We are very proud of this result. It was important for us to offer the same quality of education here in Morocco,” he added.
The president also noted the university’s high employability rate, noting that UIR graduates continue to find work quickly in Morocco and abroad thanks to a strong practical training model and international programs. The employment rate for graduates from the university currently exceeds 90% in the first year for many programs.
UIR’s progress was possible thanks to a strong academic community, Mouaddib said. “None of this would have been possible without a very high-level teaching staff,” he noted. He described UIR as “the only university in Morocco created by the diaspora,” stressing that several scholars left stable jobs abroad to help build an institution with international standards.
Further highlighting the university’s academic achievements, Mouaddib said UIR now counts “six researchers listed among the top 2% worldwide in the Stanford ranking,” along with others who have received major international awards.
He also revealed UIR’s plans to expand nationally. “Our goal is to become a group across several regions, with about 40,000 students,” he explained. The first new campus in Marrakech will include specialized schools in cinema, agriculture, hospitality, design, and digital skills.
He also announced that UIR’s new university hospital in Sale is almost ready. “We hope to open it to patients in June,” he said, noting that it aims to fill a major gap in one of Morocco’s most populated cities.
RBS: ‘Rise, Build, Shape’
During the conference, the deans of UIR’s schools were also present to highlight their institutions’ achievements, including the Dean of Rabat Business School (RBS), Nicolas Arnaud, who outlined the school’s rapid rise on the global scene.
RBS has seen “extraordinary developments” over the past decade, from earning the prestigious AACSB accreditation in record time to becoming “the only and unique African school in the Financial Times ranking,” Arnaud explained.
He detailed the school’s exceptional performance in these rankings, recalling that RBS entered the FT’s Master in Management list in 2022 at 86th position, climbed to 32nd in 2024, and reached 20th worldwide in 2025. Highlighting alumni-driven indicators, he noted that RBS ranked “first worldwide for career progression and first worldwide for international mobility,” as well as fifth globally for salary increase after three years.
Now the school aims to obtain the AMBA accreditation to achieve the prestigious “triple crown” status held by only 1% of business schools worldwide, he told Morocco World News. Through its new strategic plan, “RBS 2030: Rise, Build, Shape,” the school seeks to elevate quality, ensure long-term sustainability, strengthen international recognition, and shape the next generation of leaders in Morocco, Africa, and beyond, Arnaud added.
RBS dean also celebrated the school’s growing research output and international faculty, along with its groundbreaking triple-degree bachelor with IESEG and HEC Montréal, an academic model he described as “an innovation that does not exist anywhere else.” With EQUIS accreditation now secured, he said RBS is “officially in the Champions League of global business schools,” standing on equal footing with long-established European institutions.
