Barcelona meets Casablanca

Three TBS Barcelona students go to Casablanca for a one-week Study Tour

“I know it may sound weird, but Casablanca reminded me of China”, says Audrey, one of the three first-year Bachelor students in Barcelona who went on the Study Tour at Casablanca the last January, “because of the markets, the street food, the public transport, even their way of driving.”

In order to promote TBS campus in Casablanca among Toulouse and Barcelona students as an exchange option, TBS organised a one-week Study Tour to its Moroccan facilities. “It’s the first time we organise a Study Tour and its main purpose is to foster the students’ intercampus mobility”, explains Gabriel Zúñiga, Director of Studies at TBS Barcelona.

“I would recommend Casablanca campus to anyone who wants to try out living in an exotic environment without being that far from Europe”, says Audrey, who spend one week in Morocco during the Study Tour. “As soon as you are open-minded, you are going to do well in Casablanca.”

Audrey, together with Emily and Diana, were selected to go to the Study Tour and be the Casablanca ambassadors at TBS Barcelona. The Director of Studies at the Spanish campus, Gabriel Zúñiga, explains that the process to select the students was set out the same way as a staff selection process: “After the call went out, they had to submit a CV, a motivation letter and a proposal for the promotion of their experience.”

“The Study Tour was such a great experience”, says Bachelor student Audrey. “I got to know my colleagues from Barcelona really well and we also met Mustafa and Selma, two Casablanca students who accompanied us during the tour. We are still in contact with them and Mustafa wants to come to Barcelona for his semester abroad.”

“Morocco and Spain are main trading partners”, highlights Mohamed Derrabi, the Director of the Casablanca campus. “Furthermore, Casablanca hosts companies such as Bombardier, Thales, Boeing, Renault, Peugeot… as well as other business schools.” Morocco has a historical relationship with both Spain and France, which benefits trade relations between these countries.

The courses that exchange Bachelor students can undertake in the Casablanca campus relate to the field of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies, and can be taken in Arabic, French or English, “so you are not lost with one of these three languages”, points out Audrey.

Currently, the Casablanca campus hosts 450 students from 22 countries, mostly African. “The campus is bigger than Barcelona’s, so there’s plenty of space for everybody”, says Audrey. Gabriel Zúñiga adds: “It is also a cheaper destination compared to Toulouse or Barcelona but with the educational guarantee of TBS’ triple accreditation.”