Ibn Tofail University (UIT) contributes to government policy development in clean energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable technologies through scientific research, technical expertise, institutional partnerships, and knowledge transfer. By collaborating with government advisory bodies, national energy research institutions, local authorities and international organizations, UIT supports evidence-based decision-making on renewable-energy integration, energy-efficient infrastructure, resource optimization, and sustainable development. Its activities provide scientific and technical knowledge relevant to public policy at national, regional and local levels.
A major example of UIT’s direct contribution to national policy development is its scientific collaboration with Morocco’s Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE). The university contributed to the Council’s official opinion, Water–Energy–Food–Ecosystems Nexus: Optimising Natural Resources, Maximizing Synergies, and Reducing Intersectoral Risks in Morocco, adopted on 25 July 2024. The report explicitly acknowledges UIT’s contribution and includes a scientific analysis prepared by researchers Ahlam Qafas and Fatima Zahra Moussaid. Their work examines the integration of water, energy, food and ecosystem considerations into Moroccan public policies, identifying institutional barriers, coordination challenges and opportunities for improved energy and resource governance.
The CESE opinion provides recommendations relevant to government decision-making and sustainable energy policy, including the development of a national roadmap, coordination mechanisms at central and regional levels, improvements to regulatory frameworks and stronger integration of scientific evidence into public planning. UIT’s contribution supports this policy-advisory process by supplying analysis of intersectoral relationships, integrated resource management and decision-support approaches. The report also discusses renewable-energy integration and energy-efficient technologies in resource-intensive sectors, illustrating the importance of coordinated planning across energy, water and environmental policy.
This institutional engagement is reinforced by a formal expertise-sharing agreement between UIT and CESE, signed on 16 December 2020. The agreement establishes a framework for scientific cooperation, joint work programmes and the exchange of expertise. It provides an institutional basis for connecting university research to national public-policy analysis and supports continuing cooperation between academia and governmental advisory institutions.
UIT also contributes to Morocco’s clean-energy technology research and innovation ecosystem through cooperation with public research organizations. On 1 October 2025, during the World Power-to-X Summit in Marrakech, the university signed the Green H2Hub project agreement. Funded by the French Development Agency (AFD) and the Research Institute for Solar Energy and New Energies (IRESEN), the consortium brings together UIT, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, the University of Picardie Jules Verne, and H2X-ECOSYSTEMS. The project aims to develop a hybrid technological platform for green-hydrogen production, storage, and utilization, strengthening research capabilities relevant to national clean-energy development.
At the local and regional levels, UIT provides technical knowledge and capacity building relevant to sustainable public infrastructure. During World Water Week 2025 in Stockholm, Professor Sakina Belhamidi presented UIT’s circular water Living Lab as part of Morocco’s Urban Circular Water Resilience Initiative, involving ICLEI Africa, GIZ, and Morocco’s Ministry of the Interior. The facility incorporates membrane bioreactor technology, photovoltaic electricity, and real-time monitoring. More than 500 students, technicians, local-government representatives, and partners have participated in technical visits and training activities. The initiative enables municipalities and public-sector professionals to examine resource-efficient infrastructure, sustainable treatment technologies, and practical approaches to reducing conventional energy and water demands.
UIT further supports national institutional dialogue and policy-related knowledge exchange through participation in government-linked events. On 9–10 October 2025, Professor Saida El Mendili represented the university at the Erasmus+ National Seminar on Sustainable Development Goals and Climate Change, organised by Morocco’s Erasmus+ National Office in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation. Her presentation, Training, Practicing, and Innovating around the SDGs: The Model of Ibn Tofail University, shared institutional experience in energy efficiency, environmental management, sustainability governance and applied research. The seminar brought together more than 220 participants across 14 sessions, including ministry officials, researchers, university leaders, and international experts.
Through its documented contribution to CESE’s national policy-advisory work, formal institutional cooperation, clean-energy research partnerships, and technical knowledge transfer to public-sector stakeholders, Ibn Tofail University helps inform government discussions on energy and resource governance. These activities connect academic expertise with public decision-making and strengthen the scientific and technological foundations available to institutions developing sustainable, energy-efficient, and low-carbon solutions. UIT’s engagement demonstrates its role in supporting evidence-based approaches to clean-energy and energy-efficient technology policy development.