The SCALEC Research Laboratory- ENS, Moulay Ismail University.

Meknes
In collaboration with
IES ABROAD MOROCCO
The research laboratory “Culture, Language, Education, Migration &
Society”
Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Mohammed V University in Rabat

Research Laboratory
“Values, Society & Development”
Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences, Ibn Zohr University. Agadir

Organize the first online international conference on

Re-envisioning Higher Education for a Post-Pandemic World:

Apprehensions, Challenges and Prospects
June 24-25, 2021

Call for contributions

Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent quarantine measures taken to contain its spread
has forced higher education institutions globally to take an unprecedented move, shifting in-
person classes to online platforms as modes of delivery. Immediately, educators and students
found themselves forced to step out of their comfort zone, starting to explore new ways of
teaching and learning. In their confinement, and with little to no technical preparedness,
teachers were tasked with designing and delivering their lessons online. While this was (and
perhaps still is) the most realistic alternative to ensure educational continuity, recent reports
indicate that universities’ efforts to ‘move online’ were hampered by numerous challenges,
including issues with internet bandwidth, digital inequities, financial cost, lack of technical
preparedness for educators, and self-regulation skills for students.
Notwithstanding all the downsides associated with online delivery, several insights have
emerged. The sudden imperative to use educational technology, and the following large-scale
demand and experimentation with it, has not only exposed the level of readiness among higher
education institutions globally, but also increased the legitimacy of integrating it in universities’
pedagogical offer. Thus, the debate, even among skeptics, should no more be centered on
whether to adopt online education or not, but how to maximize and sustain its quality for all
users. Most importantly, envisioning a post-pandemic higher education must trigger a sense of
urgency among the educational community not only to mitigate the possible negative outcomes
of emergency remote education but also ensure that we are ready for the next crisis. In so doing,
higher education stakeholder should examine the various short and long-term implications of
the crisis and re-design a sustainable education model in which no one is left behind. Pedagogy-
wise instructors, both novice and experienced, need to reflect critically on their pitfalls and seek
improved mechanisms for online delivery. Research-wise, scholarly endeavors should shift
from merely listing the perks of educational technologies to finding working solutions to their
drawbacks.
The conference is thus an opportunity for practitioners, researchers and educational
stakeholders to share their stories and research findings relating to the COVID-19 crisis. This
scholarly event will be an excellent platform to debate the numerous issues surrounding
emergency remote education and its implications on the teaching and learning processes.
Therefore, we are seeking contributions that will engage with the conference theme and
subthemes, especially those that provide challenging perspectives on post-pandemic higher
education. The suggested themes are the following:
1. Learning in HE in post Covid world: challenges & prospects
 Higher education and contingency planning
 Emergency Remote Education (ERE)
 Crisis management and institutional preparedness
 The impact of ERE on educational quality
 COVID-19 and students’ wellbeing
2. Teaching in HE in post COVID world: challenges & prospects
 Students’ and teachers’ experiences with ERE
 Social networking in education
 Learning management system
 Digital inequities and students’ online readiness
 Materials design and online delivery
3. Rethinking curriculum development & material design in post the Covid era
 Incorporation of digital tools in education
 Online language teaching and learning
 Hybrid education and blended learning
 Asynchronous and synchronous communication
 Alternative assessment and evaluation
4. HE in policy interface
 Professional development in a changing world
 Action research in online environments
 Online teacher training and mentoring
 The post-COVID-19 trends in higher education
 Higher education and the 21st century skills

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Submission procedure:
Interested authors are invited to submit an abstract of 200 to 250 words by March 15th, 2021.
Contributors should first clearly demonstrate the relevance of their proposals to the conference
theme and the extent to which it engages with its aims. If applicable, contributors should then
specify the background of the study, problematic, purpose of the study, research design, and
anticipated results and implications. Notification of acceptance will be sent by April 15th, 2021.
All abstracts and/or inquiries should be submitted to conference chair at:
RHEPWconference2021@gmail.com.

Important notes:
All contributions will be blindly reviewed by at least two members of the scientific committee.
Upon acceptance, papers with notable scholarly merits will be considered for publication in a
special issue. The conference will be held on the ZOOM platform and presenters will be given
15 minutes to deliver their talk. To avoid potential technical issues, presenters will be required
to share their slides with the organizing committee one week prior to the conference (a separate
email will be sent in this regard).
To download the abstract template, use this link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e4WAgKu6KhpFALdiT8v4BpYk3l32m1kq/view?usp=sharing

Proposed timeline:
March 15th, 2021: Abstract submission deadline
April 15th, 2021: Notification of acceptance
June 24-25, 2021: Conference days

Conference chair:
 Dr. Oulaid AMZAOUROU (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)

Conference co-chairs:
 Dr. Driss MESKINE (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Dr. Yamina EL KIRAT EL ALLAME (FLHS, Mohammed V University in Rabat)

Members of the organizing committee:

 Driss MESKINE (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Ilham BOUTOB (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Nourreddine MENYANI (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Younes ZHIRI (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Oussama EL ADDOULI (IES ABROAD, Rabat. Morocco)
 Sabrine JMAD (ENS, Université Moulay Ismail, Meknès)
 Ahmed HOUARI (ENCG, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Mustapha IMOURI (Mohammed V University in Rabat)
 Amina NECHAD (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Asmaâ AFNAKAR (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Khalid DAHMANY (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Laila BENSALEH (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Mériem BELHADDIOUI (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Mohamed HICHOU (EST, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Mohammed DEKHISSI (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Mohammed HIDDAS (ENS, Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Youssef TAMER (Ibn Zohr University, Agadir)
 Hassan AIT BOUZID (Ibn Zohr University, Agadir)

Members of the scientific committee:

 Dr. Andrew SMITH (Edinboro University, Pennsylvania, USA)
 Dr. Michael A. STEFANONE (State University of New York. Buffalo, USA)
 Dr. Elias BENSALEM (Northern Border University, Saudi Arabia)
 Dr. Jonas ELBOUSTY (Yale University, USA)
 Dr. Youssef EL YACOUBI (Setton Hall University, New Jersey, USA)
 Dr. Salah AYARI (Texas A&M University, Texas, USA)
 Dr. Yamina EL KIRAT EL ALLAME (Mohammed V University in Rabat)
 Dr. Said GRAIOUID (Mohammed V University in Rabat)
 Dr. Mohammed LAROUZ (Moulay Ismail University, Meknes)
 Dr. Moulay Sadik MALIKI (Hassan II University, Casablanca)
 Dr. Ahmed CHOUARI (Moulay Ismail University, Meknes)
 Dr. Abdesslam BADRE (Mohammed V University in Rabat)
 Dr. Adil AZHAR (Mohammed V University in Rabat)
 Dr. Aziz KOUR (Mohammed V University in Rabat)
 Dr. Hicham AIT MANSOUR (Mohammed V University in Rabat)
 Dr. Meriem LAHRIZI (Mohammed V University in Rabat)
 Dr. Assya EL HANNAOUI (Mohammed V University in Rabat)
 Dr. Rachid TOUHTOU (INSEA, Rabat)
 Dr. Karima BELGHITI (Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah Univeristy, Fez)
 Dr. Driss OUBAHA (ENS, Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tetouan)
 Dr. Youssef TAMER (Ibn Zohr University, Agadir)
 Dr. Abderrahim MIMOUNI (Ibn Zohr University, Agadir)
 Dr. Hassan AIT BOUZID (Ibn Zohr University, Agadir)
 Dr. Otmane AIT OUARSSAE (Ibn Zohr University, Agadir)
 Dr. Abdelaziz ZOHRI (Hassan I University, Casablanca)
 Dr. Mohsine JEBBOUR (Moulay Ismail Univeristy, Meknes)
 Dr. Youssef BOUTAHER (Hassan II University, Casablanca)
 Dr. Youssef EL KAIDI (Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah Univeristy, Fez)
 Dr. Abdelali JEBBAR (Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah Univeristy, Fez)
 Dr. Jaouad EL HABOUCH (Abdlmalek Essaadi Univeristy, Tetouan)
 Dr. Mohsine WAHIB, (Ibn Zohr University, Agadir)