The Union for the Mediterranean supports higher education and research cooperation in the following ways: 1) It holds political forums that bring together ministers to discuss challenges and priorities in higher education and research, such as the need for increased student and researcher mobility. 2) It facilitates regional policy dialogues through platforms that convene stakeholders from universities, research centers, governments, and the private sector to address issues like internationalization and academic mobility. 3) It implements regional projects in areas like academic mobility, blue economy, and youth unemployment that receive over €160 million in funding.

1. • ChallengesandprioritiesofUfMinHigherEducationandResearch

2. Side event to the UfM
Ministerial Conference on
Employment and Labour
Cascais, Portugal
1 April 2019
Theemploymentof
Mediterraneanuniversity
graduates:
Bridgingtheemployability
gapbetweenadvanced
skillsandmarkets

3. 3
What main converging objectives for further action have emerged?
• To offer to young graduates new competences and means for transitioning as best as possible to the work environment, characterized by its openness to
innovation and mobility and its fast pace of changing.
• To close the gap between university/research world, the job market, entrepreneurship and the needs of territories.
• To enhance information flows between the different stakeholders (students, universities, private sector, municipalities, chambers of commerce…) by mobilizing
exchange platforms and organizing meetings aiming to increase the synergies, creating partnerships, strengthening networking and supporting multistakeholder
approach (enterprises, associations, ministries…) with the goal of bringing closer education to the job market needs.
• To facilitate knowledge transfer from research to business in the Mediterranean region.
• To use blue economy, bio-economy and circular economy as the newest triggers for economic growth, employment opportunities and new kinds of jobs through
applied research, training, mobility and awareness raising in innovative domains creating sustainable development.
Somemaintake-awayspointsasfoodforthought
The employment of Mediterranean university graduates:
Bridging the employability gap between advanced skills and markets

4. The Union for the
Mediterranean (UfM)
organized, in partnership with
the Ministry of Higher
Education and Scientific
Research of Egypt, a regional
meeting on higher education
regional cooperation on 1
December in Cairo.
3rdUfMRegional
MeetingonHigher
Education
Internationalisation:
Arenewedstrategic
agendaforhigher
educationregional
cooperationinthe
Mediterranean

5. An action-driven organization with a common ambition
Follow us on:
@UfMSecretariat
www.facebook.com/ufmsecretariat
www.UfMSecretariat.org

6. UfMroleinHigherEducation
andResearch

7. “Creating more opportunities
for youth”.
“Investing in quality
education systems in a
changing world of work”.
“Understanding and
addressing key challenges in
the Mediterranean area”.
UfM | Political
Fora
2

8. Ministers acknowledge:
• “the need for increased researchers’ and students’
mobility”.
• “the importance of investment in education, higher
education and training systems, including vocational
education and training”.
• “the importance of brain circulation and the contribution of
scientific diasporas to regional integration, sustainable
development and regional stability”.
UfM | Political Fora to enhance regional dialogue in
Higher Education and in Research & Innovation
3
• Ministerial Declaration of the UfM Employment and
Labour Ministers (Cascais, Portugal, 2019)
• Ministerial Conference on Strengthening Euro-
Mediterranean Cooperation through Research and
Innovation (Valletta, Malta, 2017)

9. UfM I Platforms for
regional policy
dialogue
4
stakeholders from:
• Higher education institutions,
• Regional university networks,
• Regional student networks,
• Research centres,
• European Commission,
• International organisations,
• Ministries of Higher Education and
Scientific Research,
• National competent bodies,
• Local authorities,
• Private sector,
• Civil society organisations.

10. • Last meeting to take place the ‘3rd UfM Regional
Meeting on Higher Education Internationalisation’ in
Cairo, 1 December.
• Back-to-back with a regional networking and capacity-
building seminar targeting international relations offices
of universities from both shores.
• Launching event of the Horizon Europe programme for
the Southern Mediterranean countries (second
semester 2020).
• Laying the foundations for a working group on ‎research
and innovation on priority themes such as green, ‎blue
and circular economy. ‎
“Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications:
Where does the Euro-Mediterranean region stand?”
(EMUNI-UfM conference, Barcelona, April 2019)
“The employment of Mediterranean university
graduates: Bridging the employability gap between
advanced skills and markets”
(UfM side-event to the Ministerial Conference on
Employment and Labour, Cascais, April 2019)
UfM | Regional Dialogue onhighereducationinternationalization
andacademicmobility
5

11. UfM | Projects
with a regional
impact
6
7 regional cooperation
projects have been
labelled, worth more than
€160 million!

12. UfM Projects with a regional impact
• Supporting academic mobility through scaling-up labelled
projects.
• Possibilities of engaging with new projects emerging from the
Summit of the Two Shores (e.g. creation of a network of
maritime vocational schools, etc.).
• Supporting projects with emphasis on developing actions in the
fields of blue economy, bio-economy and circular economy.
• Collaborative approach in the Euro-Mediterranean area on
migration and integration related aspects, as an eventual labelling
of the project “Rapid Response Mechanism for the
Mediterranean” promoted by the Global Platform for Syrian
Students.

13. 8
By 2030, gross enrolment rates in higher education in the region are foreseen to rise up to 40%.
The Euromed University of Fes stands as a pioneer academic institution and center of excellence that seeks to
educate a new generation of young people with a unique Euro-Mediterranean vision.
1, 070 students enrolled in academic year 2018-2019.
2,000 students are expected to be enrolled at the Euromed University of Fes for the next academic year 2019-2020.
80% of students participating in mobility experiences abroad.
46% of current teaching staff come from outside Morocco, representing 15 different nationalities (Algeria,
Belgium, France Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Poland, Portugal, Tunisia, United Kingdom,…) .
TheEuromedUniversityofFes
Human development
Zoom on a Project:

14. 9
With an average of about 30% youth unemployment, the region has one of the highest youth unemployment
rates in the world.
It is supported by a network of 95 schools and universities from 16 Mediterranean countries.
9 Euro-Mediterranean countires are currently involved in the project: Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon,
Spain, Morocco and Tunisia.
>500 young people, including 47% women, have already benefitted from the project.
HOMERe:HighOpportunityforMediterraneanExecutiveRecruitment
“The programme made my life much easier
as a student and as a young graduate facing
the labour market. It has been very easy for
me to integrate into the company and finally
get recruited”
Sara El Khal, informatics engineer,
beneficiary of HOMERe
Human development
Zoom on a Project:

15. Creating synergies, increasing
impact
Advancingcooperation
withthePRIMAInitiative

16. From a European to a
Mediterranean Initiative
Supportingtheextension
ofBLUEMEDInitiativeto
theMediterranean

17. 12
From a European to a Mediterranean Initiative (Bluemed-related activites and projects):
• Recruitment of consultants/experts to support UfMS in expanding the Initiative to UfM non-EU countries and
coordinating with BLUEMED CSA activities
• Participation to the EU-MED GSO BLUEMED WG
• Participation to nationally organized BLUEMED Information and Consultation Days (June-July 2018)
• Hosting of the BLUEMED Week (October 2018);
• Co-organisation with DG RTD of BLUEMED session at the FISHFORUM of the General Fisheries Commission for the
Mediterranean (December 2018)
• Hosting BLUEMED 4th Platforms meeting and Young Ambassadors training (October 15-18)
• REGIONAL SEMINAR ON BLUE SKILLS, CAREERS AND JOBS (Brussels, 19 November 2019) back-to-back with 6th
meeting of the Working Group on the Blue Economy (20 November).
Follow-up of the Valletta Declaration
Zoom on an Initiative: