SDG 1: No Poverty

BRAINS fully funded scholarships for Master's and doctoral students

UTM published successive calls for BRAINS, an international scholarship programme whose name stands for MoBility for Research and African Integration through Health Sciences. The sixth call offered fully funded mobility to Master's and doctoral students in life sciences, health sciences, mathematics and computer science. Master's students could spend ten months on an internship at a partner institution, and doctoral students one year on a research stay abroad. The scholarships were described as covering living expenses, plane tickets and health insurance.

Students could also follow a free online information session on Zoom, announced on the UTM website and addressed to students of health sciences, mathematics, life sciences, biostatistics, artificial intelligence and related fields at partner universities. The session presented the programme, the eligibility requirements and the application process, and ended with a live question-and-answer period. The scholarships are funded by the European Union.

HEALTHMED mobility grants for health students, doctoral candidates and staff

The Faculty of Medicine of Tunis (FMT) relayed a call for applications for mobility grants under HEALTHMED, a project whose theme is innovation in medical education, digital transition, sustainable development and health. The call was addressed to FMT teachers and medical residents and offered eight mobility grants of two to three months for doctoral candidates and students enrolled in health specialties, and two grants of seven days for teachers and collaborators of UTM. Mobility had to be physical, complete and continuous, and applications were submitted to the registry office of UTM. A pre-selection of laboratories and teams was provided to give applicants an idea of the available host structures, although candidates remained responsible for choosing the laboratory that suited them best. UTM published a second call under the same project on its news pages, and a third call followed, so that the scheme was run as a series of rounds.

Funded mobility, research internships and work-based scholarships relayed to students

UTM's news section carried a steady flow of calls that give students access to funded study or training abroad. They included Erasmus+ international credit mobility funding at partner universities in Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Estonia, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal, with results published for the selected candidates. UTM also announced the lists of students selected for MESRS-MITACS scholarships, an agreement-based scheme for end-of-study projects in Canada, and relayed Mitacs Globalink research internship scholarships.

Other offers relayed to students and young researchers included Swiss Government excellence scholarships, Master's scholarships from Wallonie-Bruxelles International, College of Europe scholarships, national scholarships for Master's and doctoral studies abroad, and international scholarships of the Doha Institute announced by the Higher Institute of Human Sciences of Tunis (ISSHT). UTM and its establishments also announced work-based scholarships (bourses d'alternance); at the Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Sidi Thabet (ISSBAT), such a scholarship lets Master's students complete an internship in a professional setting, in Tunisia or abroad, as part of their research project.

State scholarships, housing and university dining available to UTM students

UTM students benefit from the national student-support system, which in the Tunis area works through the Office des Œuvres Universitaires du Nord (OOUN). The national allocation for student scholarships and university loans was set at 227.3 million TND, against 156.7 million TND in the preceding budget, and about 40 percent of students enrolled in Tunisian universities, or 104,551 students, were expected to receive a scholarship or a loan. An integration premium of 500 TND per new student was planned for 36,000 students from low- or middle-income families, at a total cost of 18 million TND.

For housing and meals, the Ministry of Higher Education announced that 64,000 students were housed, equal to 85 percent of applicants, that 7,000 new beds were planned in university halls, and that 27 percent of students from low-income families would keep receiving targeted support. A meal in a university restaurant costs the student 200 millimes, about 14 million meals are served each year, and the ministry is working to generalise an electronic restaurant card.

UTM's own pages explain how access works. A student who holds the baccalaureate, is enrolled in a public higher-education institution and whose parents live more than 30 km from the city of the institution can apply for a university residence through OOUN, and all students of public institutions can use university dining services. For national scholarships, UTM announces the call and pre-selects files at university level, the Ministry takes the final decision, and the grant depends on the parents' annual income and on enrolment in a public institution.

Free soft-skills and job-search training with the CORP

UTM and the Centre d'Orientation et de Reconversion Professionnelle (CORP) offered students free training in soft skills and job-search techniques. A first series prepared participants to present their skills to recruiting companies at the second edition of the CORP WORKY employment fair, held at the National Engineering School of Tunis (ENIT), and was offered under the Formation et Marché du Travail (FORMAT) project. Registration only required completing an online form. The offer was repeated for students and young graduates in two further series of three-day sessions, announced on the website of ISSBAT in partnership with UTM and again free of charge. The training is aimed at easing access to employment for students and young graduates.

DigIt Africa: digital skills training coordinated by UTM

UTM coordinates DigIt Africa, an Erasmus+ capacity-building project entitled "Fostering Digital Transformation in Africa by Building Digital Capability for All", one of three Erasmus+ capacity-building projects awarded to the university. UTM describes the project as aiming to enhance digital skills and to promote inclusive digital transformation, with attention to universities in isolated areas and to reducing the digital divide. A working session with the Ministry of Higher Education, attended by the UTM President, Moez Chafra, reviewed operational planning, resource allocation and institutional support.

Within the project, UTM organised the three-day MENAFRICA Digital Summit at the National Engineering School of Tunis (ENIT), a platform for exchanging good practice and fostering regional cooperation. UTM also announced training courses on digitalisation technologies at a reduced rate alongside a digitalisation summit, and later announced DigItAfrique, a free training programme on non-technical transversal digital skills, with posters in French and English.

Intra-African scholarships and research cooperation presented at the University of Fort Hare

UTM's Vice-President for Research, Prof. Asma Gati, gave a keynote entitled "Strengthening Intra-African Research: Experiences, Challenges, and South-South Opportunities" at the Research Week of the University of Fort Hare in South Africa. She presented UTM's commitment to intra-African cooperation through the projects Intra-Afriques BRAINS, AFRIDI and the Erasmus+ project DigIt Africa, which UTM coordinates. UTM describes AFRIDI as offering scholarships to students from Sub-Saharan Africa for advanced studies and research in natural and environmental sciences, and BRAINS as providing mobility scholarships for Master's and doctoral students. The presence of an ambassador at the session underlined, in UTM's account, the link between science and diplomacy in advancing collaborative research across the continent.

Student entrepreneur support: National Student Entrepreneur Status and Entrepren'Boost

The Pôle de l'Étudiant Entrepreneur Tunis El Manar (P2E-UTM) supports student projects through UTM establishments. The FMT branch of P2E-UTM held an information session on the National Student Entrepreneur Status and on the call for the second cohort of P2E-UTM. Entry was free without prior registration, and a student entrepreneur from the first cohort at FMT described their experience. FMT also offered a masterclass on entrepreneurship in the health field.

For projects that had completed incubation, UTM and P2E-UTM offered Entrepren'Boost, an intensive training session for eight projects, organised under a partnership agreement with the Fondation Tunisie pour le Développement. Applicants submitted an updated CV for each project holder, a pitch deck, a business plan or business model canvas, and documents showing progress, such as a prototype, proof of concept, results or patents. The programme covered investment readiness and fundraising preparation, the integration of artificial intelligence into business models, internationalisation, and the structuring and labelling of projects for scale-up.

Start Cup: Mediterranean entrepreneurship competition relayed to UTM students

The Union of Mediterranean Universities (UNIMED) launched a new edition of Start Cup, a competition entitled "Entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean" that rewards entrepreneurial spirit, innovation and creativity among young people of the Mediterranean region and builds exchanges between universities on both shores. UTM published the call on its website and encouraged its students and young innovators to apply. Eligible candidates were students and university teams with an innovative project idea and entrepreneurial potential, who could gain international visibility and join a Mediterranean network devoted to entrepreneurship and innovation.

AssociaMed partners in a health caravan and Ramadan evening for orphans

AssociaMed, a national association of medical students whose headquarters are listed at the address of the Faculty of Medicine of Tunis, was a partner of a Ramadan event organised by the associations Kafel el Yatim and One Day One Dream, together with the Scouts Tunisiens de l'Ariana. The programme combined a health caravan, leisure and educational workshops, a collective iftar and an artistic evening for 300 orphans and their mothers from the governorates of Greater Tunis.

Consultations covered general medicine, paediatrics, paediatric dentistry, child psychiatry, cardiology, orthopaedics, obstetrics and gynaecology, nutrition, internal medicine and ophthalmology. Specialist doctors also gave health advice and disease-prevention talks, and medicines and nutritional supplements were distributed free of charge. Fifteen elderly residents of the Grombalia retirement home were invited as guests of honour, and the orphans and their mothers were given clothing and gifts for Eid.

Doc'Time medical caravan in Aïn El Baya, Jendouba

AssociaMed organised the 12th edition of its Doc'Time medical caravan in Aïn El Baya, in the governorate of Jendouba. The day mobilised more than 65 specialist physicians and 160 medical students and delivered over 2,500 free consultations, with medicines provided to more than 1,200 residents. According to the association's own description, Doc'Time caravans are multi-specialty missions to remote communities that offer free screening, consultations, medication, eyeglasses and surgical support. The programme runs through local branches in Tunis, Sousse, Monastir and Sfax, and brings specialist care to residents of areas far from hospital services.

Faculty of Medicine of Tunis strengthens its partnership with the North-West region

The Faculty of Medicine of Tunis held a strategic meeting dedicated to strengthening its partnership with the North-West region of Tunisia. Regional directors of health and the directors of the institutes of nursing sciences took part, and the discussions covered ways to improve training, care and community-impact actions. The partners agreed on a shared vision centred on the real needs of the population and expressed the wish to co-build innovative and lasting initiatives, with emphasis on proximity, equity and the quality of interventions at regional level. The faculty presented its Mobile University Campus as a key lever of the collaboration, illustrating the integration of the university into its social and health environment. The stated aim is a medicine that is more accessible, more supportive and more rooted in the territories.

Palestinian medical students complete a clinical internship in Tunisian hospitals

The Faculty of Medicine of Tunis hosted 24 fourth-year medical students from An-Najah National University in Palestine for a one-month internship in several Tunisian university hospitals, under an agreement between the two universities. The faculty announced the placement in a statement on its Facebook page. According to An-Najah's faculty of medicine, the training covered surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics, and was supervised by the UTM Faculty of Medicine and the Tunisian Ministry of Public Health. At the same time, Health Minister Mustapha Ferjani met a Palestinian medical delegation, and the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in university training, scientific research, the exchange of expertise and information, and twinning between health institutions.

An-Najah delegation discusses joint training with the UTM board and Faculty of Medicine

A delegation of An-Najah National University and its teaching hospital visited Tunisia to strengthen collaboration on clinical training for medical students and to expand partnerships with Tunisian health and education institutions. It included Dr Mohammed Jaber, Medical Director of An-Najah National University Hospital, Dr Shadi J. Khelfa, Director of the Department of Medicine, Summer Abu Mughli, Coordinator of Partnerships and Global Initiatives, and Dr Mohammed Alahmad, An-Najah's representative in Tunisia.

The delegation met Prof. Ihab Labban, Dean of the UTM Faculty of Medicine, and members of the faculty council, who discussed the month-long clinical training programme, and the UTM board, which agreed to expand joint research, student exchanges, lectures and scientific conferences. The Health Minister announced a twinning partnership between the An-Najah teaching hospital and Tunisian hospitals, and the Higher Education Minister stated that Tunisian universities remain open to Palestinian students and faculty. Joint training programmes for Palestinian doctors were also discussed.

SDG 1 ambassadors and the partnership with Wallah We Can

UTM's SDG 1 ambassadors are Dr Hela Ben Hassine Khalladi, Associate Professor of Economics at FSEGT and a member of its Research Laboratory in Applied Microeconomics (LARMA), and Lotfi Hamadi, an economic and social partner of UTM and founder of the association Wallah We Can. Wallah We Can has worked on entrepreneurial and environmental solutions for children's rights, structured as social enterprises. Its Green School project aims to turn public schools into sustainable educational and economic ecosystems, and it runs country programmes in Lebanon and Palestine. UTM's SDG 1 report presents two of its projects: a regenerative agriculture project on abandoned land at the Antonine Sisters' orphanage in Achkout, Lebanon, with training in eco-friendly practices for local residents, and the rehabilitation of the roof of a community kindergarten in the Al-Bustan neighbourhood of East Jerusalem.