CIHEAM Best Thesis Prize: Young Generations Committed to the Future of the Mediterranean

Ms Khaoula Mektoubi and Mr Khaled Oussama, winners of the 2025 and 2024 CIHEAM Best Thesis Awards respectively, were honoured at CIHEAM Bari during the Master of Science graduation ceremony. These distinctions provide an opportunity to highlight the achievements of young researchers and the importance of education and research for the future of Mediterranean agricultural and food systems.

Originally from Morocco, Khaoula Mektoubi, a graduate of the Master of Science programme in Integrated Pest Management, and Khaled Oussama, a graduate of the Master of Science programme in Sustainable Water and Land Management, were recognised as the winners of the 2025 and 2024 editions of the CIHEAM Best Thesis Award, respectively.

Selected from eight candidates nominated by the Directors of CIHEAM's four Institutes, the award recognises the quality of students' research and its contribution to understanding the agricultural and food-related challenges facing the Mediterranean region.

Educating and Supporting the Next Generations

True to its international mission, CIHEAM places higher education, academic mobility and scientific exchange among Mediterranean countries at the heart of its work.

Through its four Institutes, CIHEAM offers programmes combining scientific knowledge, applied research and the development of skills adapted to real-world challenges. Students' research covers a wide range of topics, including natural resource management, sustainable agricultural practices and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, drones and satellite imagery.

Educating young people, supporting their scientific careers and facilitating their entry into professional life are central to CIHEAM's activities. Beyond the transfer of knowledge, the aim is to equip younger generations with the skills and opportunities to contribute to innovation, regional cooperation and the transformation of Mediterranean agricultural and food systems.

A Mediterranean Community Beyond Borders

The CIHEAM experience extends well beyond graduation. Each new cohort joins a vast international community of alumni, researchers and professionals who, over the decades, have built lasting connections between countries and institutions across the region.

This alumni network also reflects the human dimension of Mediterranean cooperation. Through their professional journeys, collaborations and commitments, its members help sustain opportunities for exchange, dialogue and knowledge sharing, across borders and differences.

In a region facing profound tensions, these human and scientific connections take on particular significance. Bringing together young people from different countries to study, exchange ideas, share experiences and develop joint projects also helps foster mutual understanding and closer ties between Mediterranean societies.

Beyond degrees and academic distinctions, it is through these encounters, exchanges and lasting connections that CIHEAM's mission of cooperation finds its deeper meaning: contributing, through knowledge and the education of young people, to a Mediterranean region built on dialogue, solidarity and peace.