Honoris Academic Council to lead collaborative intelligence across network

Education For Impact ® by Honoris Staff Writer

New Council to boost collaborative intelligence

A new Academic Council is expected to further boost idea-sharing and skills transfer among Honoris member institutions. Through an exciting range of programmes, including international exchanges and collaborative projects, Honoris faculty and students will benefit from the sharing of academic practices, real-world expertise, and multi-cultural immersion. The Academic Council will also focus on developing employability centres, innovation LABS and cutting-edge learning environments to ensure Honoris students are strongly competitive in the 21st Century labour markets.

A new Honoris Academic Council has been established to promote the sharing of skills, resources and inspiration across the network. The Academic Council aims to boost collaborative intelligence across the continent, thereby grooming graduates to be agile, mobile employees and entrepreneurs who are fully equipped with 21st Century skills.

The Academic Council will guide and coordinate efforts across member institutions, including new faculty and student exchange programmes. Exchanges will include semesters abroad, study tours, speaking events, and more. There will also be collaborative projects, best practice transfers, and the development of multi-country teams that aim to cross-pollinate ideas and approaches among students and staff.

In the near-term, the agenda will also have a strong focus on developing 21st Century skills. The Academic Council, comprised of representative leaders of our institutions, will oversee the implementation of transversal programmes especially for the development of soft and digital skills, helping to equip graduates with real-world competencies.

Moreover, the Academic Council will reinforce Job and Career Services Offices in every Honoris institution. These employability centres will boost students’ workplace skills and readiness for today’s challenging job markets. More broadly, the Academic Council’s agenda focuses on developing 21st Century learning environments. Member institutions will be setting up “Honoris Spaces”, cutting-edge learning infrastructure, such as the Honoris Medical Simulation Center in Tunisia, the SmartiLab at EMSI (Ecole Marocaine des Sciences de l’Ingénieur) in Morocco, the iLeadLAB at REGENT Business School and the future iTeachLAB at MANCOSA, both in South Africa.

The Academic Council will also look for opportunities to further develop and expand faculties across the Honoris network, as well as ensure existing faculties are employing the latest pedagogical approaches and learning technologies.

Meet The Academic Council

The Academic Council is comprised of five representatives with exemplary backgrounds and academic experiences.

Dr. Wafa Troudi Cherif: With a doctorate in the genetics of cancer, Dr. Cherif is the Dean of the Health Science School at Université Centrale in Tunisia, the largest in the Maghreb region and home to the world-class Honoris Medical Simulation Centre

Professor Zaheer Hamid: Professor Hamid is the Academic Director at MANCOSA, the leading private distance learning institution in South Africa and a trusted provider of accessible, affordable and accredited programs designed for working professionals in Africa. Professor Hamid has a special interest in teacher training and educational research as well as the internationalization of higher education

Dr. Amine Bensaid: Dr. Bensaid is the President of Université Mundiapolis in Casablanca, Morocco, one of the Kingdom’s first private multidisciplinary universities known for the high employability rate of its alumni. Dr. Bensaid is also the President of the Moroccan-American Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange, which encourages and facilitates academic exchange between Morocco and the US

Dr. Kais Mabrouk: Dr. Mabrouk is the Executive Director of International Development at Université Centrale, a private multidisciplinary university ranked as #1 in Tunisia by Unirank. With a PhD in Electronics and Telecommunication, Dr. Mabrouk has a special interest in higher education, scientific research, enterprise studies and business development

Dr. Karim Alami: Dr. Alami is the Deputy General Manager of Ecole Marocaine des Sciences de l’Ingénieur (EMSI), the largest engineering school in Morocco. EMSI is renowned for its innovation and research work and in the last three years has received almost 60 international prizes and awards. This includes most recently, the 47th Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions and the 22nd Edition of the International Exhibition of Inventions and Technological Innovations in Moscow