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Faculty
Research Center
Research Groups


Introduction

SMU Research Center aims at enhancing research opportunities, academic excellence, real-world problem solving, as well as knowledge creation and dissemination. The goal of the Research Center is to enable interaction between faculty and visiting scholars, students and industry in order to raise the profile of SMU as a leading Higher Education institution, innovative, and an actor for change.



Objectives


  • Ensure that research contributes effectively to the overall mission of SMU.
  • Sustain and strengthen our research environment, initiatives and create opportunities to generate financial support through private grants for research initiatives.  
  • Encourage participation and collaboration between our faculty members and with external stakeholders by building bridges with other academic partners, policy making community, business community and the public sphere in general. 



Activities




Research Ecosystem


SMU RESEARCH CENTER : BUILDING BRIDGES






  • Between Academia and the Business community: promote relations with business community through applied research to help them making better choices and anticipate future challenges. Research is valuable in convincing companies to change their way of thinking, operating and doing business.  
  • Between Academia and the policy-making community: thinking about the economic, social and international contexts. Conduct high quality research on the challenges Tunisia is facing and foster knowledge production and policy making based on the use of technology tools and research methods that combine both qualitative and quantitative instruments.
  • Between Academia and public sphere: inform public debate, question common ideas and common thinking.
  •  Across sectors by promoting collective thinking and building strategic communities including a variety of actors: academia, private sector, civil society and public sector. 



MITACS

Mitacs is a Canadian not-for-profit organization that has designed and delivered research and training programs since 1999. It works with industry, academia and both federal and provincial governments to support applied and industrial research-based innovation. It is dedicated to building international partnerships to help strengthen connections, improve economic performance and create jobs. Over the past 20 years, Mitacs has funded more than 20,000 research projects, trained more than 33,000 students and postdocs and supported more than 3,600 international research collaborations. South Mediterranean University (SMU) has established a partnership with one of Mitacs’ exchange programs, namely, Globalink to carry out joint industrial and academic research projects through leading research groups in top-ranked Canadian universities. The partnership includes two exchange initiatives.



One is Mitacs Globalink Research Internship (GRI) for undergraduate students at their final years of studies and combined undergraduate/master’s program students enrolled full-time in a Tunisian university. GRI provides an opportunity for top-ranked applicants to participate in a 12-week (between May and October) research internship under the supervision of Canadian university faculty members in a variety of academic disciplines including science, engineering, mathematics, management, humanities and social sciences. Through this program, the student is given the opportunity to participate in professional trainings and interactions with companies for project management and entrepreneurship experiences. The grant is $12,000 CAD (with a $4000 CAD student’s contribution) and covers student airfare, visa fees, medical insurance, living stipend and research costs. For more information about student’s eligibility, application requirements, implementation timeline and other relevant details regarding matching process and evaluation criteria; please visit the following link: 

https://www.mitacs.ca/en/programs/globalink/globalink-research-internship

  


The second program included in the SMU-Mitacs partnership is Mitacs Globalink Research Award (GRA). This mobility exchange is not only designated for undergraduate students at their final years of studies, but also for master’s and Ph.D. students and postdoctoral fellows with full-time affiliations in a Tunisian university. The program allows the participants to work on advanced research projects for a period of 12-24 weeks. It is the responsibility of the participants in this initiative to identify and develop research projects under the joint supervision of a Canadian university faculty member and a professor at a Tunisian university. The grant is $6000 CAD (with a $3000 CAD participant’s contribution). Applications to this program should be made through the SMU. For more information about participant’s eligibility, application requirements and other relevant details; please visit the following link: 

https://www.mitacs.ca/en/programs/globalink/globalink-research-award




If you are interested to apply for one of these programs through SMU-Mitacs partnership, please fill in the following form :  



For more details about the application process through the SMU-Mitacs partnership and the exchange mobility between Tunisia and Canada through Mitacs, please contact: Yasmine Guefrachi, Ph. D. (Assistant Professor at MedTech) at yasmine.guefrachi@medtech.tn

Research Groups


SMU Research groups are built to interact and identify challenges and explore new insights to co-produce high quality research. These groups also bring together faculty and research students with similar research interests to develop ideas, undertake projects and share expertise. 

The main idea behind the work of these Research groups is to value the contribution of SMU to organizations. They are built to interact and engage with industry, build partnerships, identify challenges and explore new insights to co-produce solutions for them. 


SMU Research Center operates through 4 Areas of Advance that are intertwined with areas of education in our three schools: MSB, MedTech and LCI to promote an interdisciplinary approach. While our Schools provide a solid base of knowledge and expertise, our Areas of Advance – all of which have the goal of sustainable development at their core – target complex societal and economic challenges. 




Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS)


There are 17 SDGs and 169 targets in total. While they are all important and interrelated, some are more relevant to our mission at the Research Center than others. This section can identify the specific SDGs and targets that the Research Center is prioritizing under the Areas of Advance, and demonstrate how they align with SMU strategy and goals.




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