Dr. Rawae Karmim | Country Director for Morocco | STAR Scholars Network Cross-Border Initiatives
Rawae Karmim joined the STAR Scholars Network this year as Country Director for Morocco. A literature and cultural studies scholar at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, she teaches across every school on campus and is building a case for Moroccan early-career researchers to have a route into international publishing that does not depend on hierarchy. She spoke with W. James Jacob, Vice President for Cross-Border Initiatives, about teaching Gen Z, design thinking with AI, and what she wants to open up for her colleagues.
At a Glance
- Country: Morocco
- Affiliation: Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
- Field: Literature and cultural studies; design thinking and AI pedagogy
- Degrees: PhD and BA, Oujda; MA in cultural studies, Fez
- Recognition: AUI Presidential Innovation Fund
- Joined STAR: 2026
Background and Role
Can you share a brief overview of your academic and professional journey, and what led you to serve as a Country Director?
I began with a BA in literature in Oujda, then took an MA in Fez in cultural studies, identities, and nationhoods in Morocco. My PhD took me back to Oujda, where I joined the Space and Culture team and worked at the intersection of literature and cultural studies. I taught as an adjunct professor for five semesters in the Faculty of Letters in Oujda before being hired at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. What pushed me toward the Country Director role was reading the STAR website and seeing what the network says about community and networking. I wanted to be the access point for people who might not otherwise have that access, and to make research and publication easier for Moroccan scholars who too often get the short end of the stick or must navigate university politics. Early-career researchers and PhD students are overlooked here, and I wanted to offer them a platform to publish and make an impact.
What do you find most fulfilling about your work in academia and in the profession?
As a cultural studies nerd, it is taking issues that look enormous and unapproachable to a young Gen Z mind and connecting them to anime, or rap, or the films and music they already know, then building out from there until we arrive at the jargon I was meant to teach in the first place. Then comes the eureka moment, and they see that everything they consume is media and that it is all interconnected — every reel they like, every scroll through TikTok. I love showing them that connection.
“I wanted to be the access point for people who might not otherwise have that access.”
Impact and Achievements
Can you highlight a recent project, publication, or achievement that you are particularly proud of?
A colleague and I were recently awarded the Presidential Innovation Fund at Al Akhawayn. In our Liberal Arts Foundations course, we teach design thinking through the second half of the semester. Students go into the community in Ifrane, identify a problem people face there, and build a prototype of a solution. Because this is a general education course, I teach humanities, engineering, and business students alike, and not all of them can code an application, so we use AI to prototype. The first half of the design thinking is entirely human-centered; the second half pushes students to treat AI as a tool and a companion, not something that replaces them or thinks on their behalf. It ended in student presentations, and we are writing it up now.
How has your work contributed to advancements in your field and impacted students and colleagues?
I also teach a literature elective within general education, so students arrive from every discipline, and many took a course with me as freshmen and return to see how gamified activities work in a literature class. I am a great admirer of nineteenth-century literature, Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne above all, so we spend time on Gothic aesthetics and philosophical transcendentalism. Teaching that to a graduating computer science senior and watching them become interested is a real win.
Vision and Engagement
What is your vision as Country Director for Morocco and for the cross-border initiatives?
I am already working on the sixth edition of the Internationalization of Higher Education, a partnership that includes Ibn Tofail University and the STAR Scholars Network. Al Akhawayn also hosts an interdisciplinary graduate research conference each spring that draws universities from across Morocco, and I would like to bring the network into it. Alongside that, I have the AI pedagogy volume and a possible conference on the same theme, and I would like to see whether the network can make room for creative work as well as research.
How can students, practitioners, and scholars get involved in Morocco’s cross-border initiatives?
By participating in conferences, submitting abstracts to calls for papers, and building networks. That is the question I am trying to answer through this role. Hierarchy and politics make it hard for students and early-career scholars to network or convene their own events, and publishing is still closely tied to one’s supervisor. I hope the work I do as Country Director makes a way around that.
Advice and Insights
What advice would you give to those wanting to get involved in the STAR Scholars Network?
Just be involved. There are a great many people to learn from and experiences to absorb, so be a sponge. Everything colleagues have shared in the meetings so far has been interesting, and the environment is relaxed and professional at once. So join.
Beyond the Desk
Outside of work, what helps you maintain a balanced life?
I am a new mother, so there is less time than there used to be. What restores me is reading, writing, long walks, and the company of people I can simply relax with.