Benin and Reims launch master’s in sustainable engineering design at Sèmè City

Benin’s higher education landscape has taken a decisive step forward. On September 15, 2026, the Sèmè City Institute of Technology (SCITI) and the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA) formalized a strategic partnership through a signed agreement to launch the Master’s program “Engineering of Design – Sustainable Engineering track.”

A first for SCITI

This new curriculum marks the very first Master’s-level program offered by SCITI, the engineering school embedded within the national innovation hub Sèmè City. The result of cooperation between the Beninese government and the French university, the track leads to an international degree aimed at training a new generation of technical leaders on home soil.

The program focuses on the entire life cycle of products and infrastructure. Students will learn to integrate environmental, economic, and performance criteria from the earliest theoretical modeling phase.

Educating designers, not just executors

This initiative aligns with Benin’s economic and industrial transformation policy. While the sub-region has long relied on importing technology and external expertise for its major projects, the government intends to equip the country with engineers capable of building solutions tailored to local realities.

The stated goal is to strengthen the human capital needed to support the development of the country’s industrial zones, such as the Glo-Djigbé Special Economic Zone (GDIZ), and to anchor Benin among West Africa’s technology innovation hubs.

By Claire Mvondo — Expert sécutiré et politique d’état