The International University of Rabat was first conceived in 2005 by Noureddine Mouaddib, a Moroccan computer scientist and academic. His goal was to establish an institution that could combine national support with international expertise, while drawing on the skills of the Moroccan academic diaspora. In 2007 the project received support from the governments of
Morocco and
France, which encouraged the creation of a higher education model based on a
public–private partnership. In 2009 the initiative was approved by the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education. The
Caisse de dépôt et de gestion (CDG), a major public financial institution in Morocco, became a principal investor. A plot of land was allocated in the Technopolis area of
Salé, and in September 2010
King Mohammed VI presided over the laying of the foundation stone. Teaching and research activities began later the same year. Initial academic programs focused on
business studies,
information technology, preparatory classes for engineering, and
executive education. Over the following years the university expanded its offerings to include
political science,
aerospace engineering,
energy engineering,
actuarial science, and
architecture. By the mid 2010s new schools in
dental medicine and
automotive engineering were also introduced, and the institution received formal recognition from the Moroccan state. In 2020 the Rabat Business School, part of the university, obtained
AACSB accreditation. In 2023 construction began on a university hospital and new facilities for medicine, paramedical sciences, and biomedical engineering. In 2024 the first programs in
civil engineering were launched, and three of the university’s engineering schools obtained accreditation from the
Commission des Titres d'Ingénieur and the
EUR-ACE quality label. == Academic Structure ==