Staff Mobility Visit to Abdelmalek Essaâdi University (ENCG-Tangier): A Cross-Cultural Experience

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By Grace McClintic and Josué García, Universidad de Huelva, Spain

During the second week of January 2025, we visited the UAE National School of Management in Tangier (ENCGT) to carry out an Erasmus+ staff training mobility from the University of Huelva.

We felt extremely welcoming by Mr. Anass EL GHRASLI during our time at the ENCGT-UAE, and felt sincere and personalized attention was given to us from all those we met, including various staff members, students, and the director of ENCGT, Mr. Ahmed MAGHNI.

Anass was very generous with his time, and he went out of his way to hold meetings with us, give us an extensive tour of the campus, as well as to introduce us to several staff members. We learned a lot about Moroccan culture and the UAE. A mix of languages was spoken during the visit, mainly English and Spanish, and my husband and I were very impressed by how many staff and students spoke Spanish.

We saw many of the facilities of the ENCGT, which were all very well-equipped and impeccably maintained, including the campus, library, cafeteria, and multi-media room. The students and staff were very interested in sitting down to talk to us, and we were able to converse about Tangier and Huelva, and exchange cultural perspectives.

Outside of the university my husband and I met many wonderful people from Tangier. Everyone we met was not only friendly, but willing to help or guide us. We felt totally welcome in the city, everywhere we went. As a country, I would highly recommend Morocco as a destination for travel or studies to any of my friends, family, or colleagues.

This destination was picked for our mobility in continue to strengthen the good relations between the two partner universities, as well as to bring more awareness to staff and students in the University of Huelva about destinations outside of Europe for possible mobility periods, either for studies or for traineeships. We have only positive things to say about this university, and the team who work there. It is without a doubt a destination I would be interested in visiting again, and I would not hesitate to recommend it to any of my colleagues or students.

We are very grateful to the staff and students of UAE (including two students who helped us on our first day when we lost our way!). I hope in the future students and staff from Huelva and Tangier continue to come together to connect on a deep level, and embrace the humanity between us, and the close heritage we share.

“We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate”

– Pico Iyer