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A one-month course at UWB full of lectures, presentations, excursions and workshops was attended for the first time ever by students from Morocco at the end of the year 2024. They did not miss visits to Pilsen and regional sights such as the West Bohemian Museum, the Great Synagogue, the Manor house Kozel, the Atom Museum Javor 51 in Brdy or the Bärnau-Tachov Historical Park.

During the academic part of the programme, the Moroccan guests attended, for example, lectures by lecturers from the Department of Middle Eastern Studies of the Faculty of Arts on Czech-African relations, migration and integration in the Czech Republic or a lecture on Salafist Islam by Marco di Donato from the University of Palermo, who was at the time staying at the Department of Middle Eastern Studies. The Department of History of the Faculty of Education prepared, for example, a lecture on the legacy of John Amos Comenius and involved Moroccan guests in the lecture of modern history, on this occasion taught in English.

On the occasion of the first exchange stay of Moroccan students at UWB, H.E. Hanane Saadi, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco in the Czech Republic, accepted an invitation to Pilsen. Her visit took place on 9 December. The Ambassador met with the Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy, David Šanc, as well as with the students. The common topic of conversation was, for example, exchange study stays or the past and future of Czech-Moroccan relations. And the history of these relations was also the topic of the lecture by Jan Pěchota from UWB, which concluded the Ambassador's stay in Pilsen.

Apart from teaching, the students of UWB prepared for their Moroccan counterparts a two-day trip to Prague and workshops on Christmas decorations, traditional crafts and Czech cuisine. The students also organised a Czech-Moroccan indoor football match and an ice skating course. In addition, the Moroccan students visited the headquarters of the Pilsen-based patient organization Mothers with Cancer, where they heard a lecture on the need for cancer prevention and tried out breast self-examination methods. Film evenings prepared by the Student Film Club also became a regular part of the programme.

"I had the chance to go to the Czech Republic for 1 month as part of a university exchange program between West Bohemia University and Ibn Tofail University, during which I had the opportunity to visit several cities, among which were Pilsen, Prague, Český Krumlov, České Budějovice ... perhaps my favorite city was Pilsen, where we were staying most of our time, I loved it so much and it felt like home. Sometimes the cold weather was a little harsh on us but the warm welcome from all the Czech students and teachers made it less rough. During our stay we got to try the Czech gastronomy which we really enjoyed - and now that I am back in Morocco I still make kuře na paprice which we already prepared during a cooking class we had as part of the program during our stay. I got to say that the entire program was really delightful, we learned a lot about Czech Republic and the Czech culture and I am looking forward to coming back to discover even more layers of the incredible culture of this country that is now my most favourite European country," summed up the impressions of the stay of Moroccan student Rima Srayi.

The programme took place within the framework of a new cooperation with the University of Ibn Tofail, whose students and teachers will prepare a similar programme for the students of UWB in February 2025 in Morocco. The purpose of the event is not only to provide academic lectures delivered by the teachers, but also to provide an opportunity to learn about a foreign culture during a program prepared by their peers.