Hubert Curien Partnerships in North Africa

PHC Toubkal 2025

PHC Maghreb 2025

PHC Utique 2024

The PHCs, a French initiative, are led in France by the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs in liaison with the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. The management of most of these partnerships has been entrusted to Campus France. The PHC are aimed at public or private research laboratories attached to higher education institutions, research organizations or companies. Funding is granted on an annual basis.

PHC Toubkal 2025

Toubkal is the highest peak in Morocco, located in the Moroccan High Atlas. The name "Toubkal" was chosen in reference to the PhD candidates involved in this programme who wish to achieve scientific excellence in their research work. 

The Toubkal is the Franco-Moroccan partnership. In Morocco, it is implemented by the Moroccan Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research and the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research.

The TOUBKAL has three specific objectives:

1. To promote new collaborations and exchanges between researchers from both countries allowing to establish long-term collaborations, to create networks, to jointly access existing international networks or to participate in European projects;
2. To support training in and the mandatory involvement of a Moroccan PhD candidates in cotutelle per project;
3. To help develop innovative research with an impact on sustainable development, production or transformation channels and tools leading to technology transfer.

The Toubkal program funds mobility for researchers and PhD candidates through projects presented jointly by one or more French and Moroccan teams.

Eligible areas: 

• Mathematics and Information and Communication Sciences and Technology with priority given to digital tools ;
• Sciences of matter ;
• Engineering sciences;
• Life and health sciences;
• Earth, Universe and Environmental Sciences;
• Humanities, Social Sciences, Teaching French as a foreign language, Legal, economic and management sciences;
• Agricultural and veterinary sciences.

Terms and conditions 

- The CHP Toubkal is open to all research institutions whether they are universities or not;

- The Moroccan project leader must be of Moroccan nationality;

- It is mandatory, under penalty of non-eligibility, to involve in the project one or two PhD candidates of Moroccan nationality in cotutelle aged less than 30 years at the start of the project.

PHC Maghreb 2025

The Hubert Curien Maghreb Regional Partnership encourages multilateral cooperation by financing joint projects involving Tunisia, Morocco and France for the 2023 call for projects. These projects are funded for a period of three years.

The only regional PHC in the world, the PHC Maghreb, is implemented in Morocco by the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, in partnership with the National Center for Scientific and Technical Research (CNRST), and in Tunisia by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MESRS).

The PHC Maghreb seeks to:

1. Promote collaboration and exchange between researchers in order to establish long-term collaborations, to create networks, to jointly access existing international networks or to participate in European projects;
2. To support training and the involvement of PhD candidates and post-docs in projects;
3. Helping to develop innovative research with an impact on sustainable development, production or processing sectors and tools, leading to the transfer and development of results;
4. To encourage new collaborations as a priority.

The priority theme of the call for applications 2023 is entitled:

Towards a multicultural and sustainable Mediterranean space, facing the challenges related to:

• climate and energy changes;
• water sciences;
• innovation and competitiveness of enterprises;
• identity, value and dialogue of civilizations, migration and integration, history and heritage, law and trade
• the digital transition;
• public health issues, detection and prevention of epidemics.

Modalities 

Each year, the countries involved provide support to the PHC Maghreb projects as part of the mobility of project leaders (senior stay), thesis co-directors (senior stay), PhD candidates (junior stay) and post-doctoral researchers (junior stay).

PHC UTIQUE 2023

UTIQUE is the Franco-Tunisian Hubert Curien Partnership. In France, it is coordinated by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. In Tunisia, it is implemented by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and managed by the General Directorate of Scientific Research. This program is supervised by the Joint Committee for University Cooperation under the responsibility of a French and a Tunisian co-chair.

The UTIQUE PHC aims to:

• develop scientific and technological exchange between the laboratories of the two countries, by encouraging new cooperation and the participation of young researchers and PhD candidates.

All fields of research are included in this call for proposals and particularly the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Special consideration will be given to projects :

• involving socio-economic partnerships. Applications containing one or more letters of support or commitment and mentioning the nature of the contribution will be given prior consideration;
• encouraging innovation and the transfer of knowledge and skills for the benefit of both countries;
• nurturing the networking of research teams.

Terms and Conditions

1. The program will be able to finance the mobility of a maximum of 2 cotutored PhD candidates per project. Each allowance covers 9 months of the PhD candidate’s stay over the 36 months of the thesis, spread over 3 years with annual stays of 3 months.
2. The program encourages the mobility of postdoctoral researchers (minimum one, maximum two). Allowances cover a 6-month stay for the post-doctoral fellow over the 36 months of the project, spread over 3 years with annual stays of 2 months.