https://hdl.handle.net/10259/9737 Fri, 31 Jul 2026 17:41:44 GMT 2026-07-31T17:41:44Z https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11948 The International Mobility Strategy of the ENSA El Jadida in Morocco: The Case Study of Student’s Exchange with Spain Lifi, Mohamed; El Hassani, Sanae; Aguilar Romero, Fernando The call for more student and scientist exchanges, because of the globalization processes, is the present trend in science and research institutions worldwide. Nowadays, many universities and institutions aim offering an opportunity for transferring knowledge and experience to their students, and have launched international cooperation programs. Institutional programs are usually centered in collaborative projects amongst higher education and research organizations, with the aim of strengthening their performance capacity. This contribution presents the initiative of internationalization of the Ecole Nationale des Sciences Appliquées d’El Jadida at the Chouaïb Doukkali University in Morocco. The aim is to facilitate the professional integration of students in an internationalizing environment and to promote the international dimension of research activities. The cooperation for exchange of its undergraduate engineering students with the University of Burgos in Spain is described. For six years, eleven students of the engineering cycle Energy and Electrical Engineering have performed an internship in summer as part of a collaboration agreement with the Energy Engineering research group at the University of Burgos. The experience demonstrates the improvement of scientific, technical, operational, research and personal competences of those students participating in the experience. the institutional support of the respective universities and the need of leading persons within the respective universities able to carry out the experiences in the long term have been estimated as the key factor for success. Comunicación presentada en: The 11th International Conference on EUropean Transnational Educational (ICEUTE 2020), Burgos, Spain, September 16th–18th, 2020 Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11948 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11947 The Impact of International Mobility in Doctoral Training in Novel Research Groups: A Case Study Rubio Pérez, Gabriel; Lifi, Mohamed; Briones Llorente, Raúl; Aguilar Romero, Fernando Mobility of doctoral students is considered a critical factor which contributes to the doctoral graduate research performance and the knowledge transfer. The research productivity of doctoral students is still more critical for those novel research groups which have to overcome several barriers before they reach a reasonable stability in research productivity. Getting started with a novel group could take several years until the group reaches a minimum productivity, depending on the field of study. Besides, internationalization of a novel group means its regular participation in the international research networks in the respective scientific domain. This contribution presents a case study of the impact of international mobility of doctoral students in the global research productivity of the hosting novel research group. The increase in research productivity due to mobility of doctoral students is shown analyzing the evolution of the number of articles published and comparing it to the critical decisions of internationalization taken by the group, suggesting a relationship between both arguments. Results show that the impact of the doctoral mobility reaches 45% of the total productivity in a period of 12 years. Comunicación presentada en: The 11th International Conference on EUropean Transnational Educational (ICEUTE 2020), Burgos, Spain, September 16th–18th, 2020 Fri, 01 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11947 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11939 Mathematical Modeling of the Flash Method for Determing the Thermal Diffusivity of Construction Building Materials Ouakarrouch, Mohamed; Garoum, Mohammed; Laaroussi, Najma; Lifi, Houda; Salmi, Houda; Lifi, Mohamed; Jraifi, Abdelilah The choice of construction and thermal insulation materials relies primarily on their thermophysical properties, notably thermal conductivity (λ), specific heat capacity (cp), and thermal diffusivity (a). Accurate determination of these properties is essential for evaluating the thermal behavior of materials in buildings. Various experimental methods, classified according to the type of heat transfer regime (steady-state or transient), are used for this purpose. This study fits into this context by focusing on the mathematical modeling of the Flash method, in accordance with ASTM standard E1461-13. This method, which was designed and developed in our laboratory, allows for the determination of the thermal diffusivity a (m2/s) of materials under transient conditions. The developed mathematical model is based on the assumption of one-dimensional heat transfer, taking into account heat losses on both the front and rear faces of the sample being characterized. The shape of the thermal pulse generated by the apparatus was experimentally determined, and the recorded data were modeled using a script written in the Mathematica language. The characterization results will be presented and discussed. Comunicación presentada en: The International Conference on Mathematics and Intelligent Systems in Industry (MISI'25), Safi, Morocco, July 9–10, 2025 Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11939 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11938 Sustainable cement mortar-esparto composites: Experimental thermal and mechanical characterization, building energy simulation, and life cycle assessment Zahrani, Fouad; Ouakarrouch, Mohamed; Nouhi, Abderrahman; Lifi, Houda; Lifi, Mohamed; Laaroussi, Najma The building sector faces increasing pressure to reduce both operational energy consumption and embodied carbon emissions while maintaining adequate thermal and mechanical performance of construction materials. In this context, the present study investigates the potential of cement mortar reinforced with esparto fibers as a sustainable building-envelope material capable of improving energy efficiency while valorizing locally available natural resources. An integrated methodology combining microstructural analysis, thermophysical characterization, compressive strength testing, life cycle assessment (LCA), and dynamic building energy simulation was adopted. Microstructural observations revealed the porous and lignocellulosic nature of esparto fibers, promoting the formation of air-filled voids within the cement matrix. The incorporation of 4 wt% esparto fibers reduced bulk density by 15% (from 1768 to 1503 kg/m3) and significantly improved the thermal performance of the mortar. Thermal conductivity decreased from 0.553 to 0.310 W/(m·K) (41.7%), while thermal diffusivity and thermal effusivity were reduced by 33.1% and 28.8%, respectively. In contrast, the effective heat capacity increased, enhancing the thermal inertia of the composite. Although the compressive strength decreased from 38.58 MPa for the reference mortar to 14.90 MPa for the CM + 4% EF composite, the obtained values remain suitable for several non-structural building-envelope applications. The environmental assessment indicated a reduction of approximately 127 kg CO2 per cubic meter compared with conventional mortar. Dynamic simulations performed using DesignBuilder/EnergyPlus under two contrasting Moroccan climates (Marrakech and Ifrane) showed that the optimized wall configuration incorporating the CM + 4% EF composite significantly reduced annual heating and cooling energy demands. Cooling demand in Marrakech decreased from 6953 to 4758 kWh/year, while heating demand in Ifrane was reduced from 7555 to 5090 kWh/year. Overall, the results demonstrate that esparto fiber-reinforced cement mortars can simultaneously improve thermal insulation performance, reduce environmental impact, and contribute to building energy savings. The study highlights the potential of natural fiber-based composites as sustainable and climate-responsive solutions for future low-carbon building envelopes. Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11938 2026-06-01T00:00:00Z