Created in 1978 in a spirit of innovation and constant quest for excellence, Ferhat Abbas Sétif University 1 has become over the years a major player and a development driver essential for the region.
Open to its socio-economic environment and because of its nature as a center dedicated to science and technology, UFAS1 is still committed to a clear and global vision that takes into account the strategic weight of the region in the development of the country at all levels and the great potential of the university.
Sétif University Center was created by Executive Decree No.78-133 of April 9, 1978, to host 242 students spread out over three Institutes (Economics, Exact Sciences and Technology, and Foreign Languages).
In 1984, the University Center witnessed the creation of several National Institutes of Higher Education (INES) having administrative and financial autonomy.
In 1989, the INESs were merged to form an establishment having the status of a University.
Since October 17, 1992, the university has been proudly bearing the name of the late Ferhat Abbas, a well-known figure of the national movement and first president of the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic (GPRA).
During the academic year 1999/2000 and following the reorganization of the institutes into faculties, Ferhat Abbas University has counted 06 Faculties.
Since 2005, Ferhat Abbas University has gradually adopted the LMD system. Since January 12, 2010, after a new restructuring, our university is made up of 8 Faculties and 2 Institutes.
Like other universities and higher education institutions, Ferhat Abbas Sétif University 1 is today called to improve, on one hand, the quality of its programs to increase the graduates’ skills and qualifications and, on the other hand, to engage in user research for the benefit of the socio-economic sector, which is expected to increase its job offerings in particular for managers.
How to achieve these two goals in a relatively short time? is the question that the new management of UFAS1 has attempted to answer. Recognizing that this public university is facing a phenomenon of massive enrollment and it will continue to host a large number of students over the next few years, the new management team is trying to put in place a development strategy that takes into account both the previous constraint and the strengths of this university.
A first approach was then made at the MENA Countries Conference organized by the World Bank in Beirut on May 12-14, 2015 during which a presentation of the first draft of this strategy has been made.
The mission of the University as well defined by the Higher Education Orientation Act is built around economic, social, and cultural development through the training of professional staff and technology transfer to its environment.
On the ground, the situation is quite different. Indeed, its main role is limited to academic knowledge dissemination and issuing degrees and diplomas. This situation has led to a total disconnection of the university from its socio-economic environment.
The university must now change the strategy to not be limited to knowledge transfer but to include a know-how transfer (skills and qualifications) which is a guarantee of students’ employability. The university must produce skilled graduates necessary for the smooth functioning of the economic and social system to contribute to the improvement of employability and the exploitation of research results.
In the same way, academic scientific research, carried out so far, is practically academic. Scientific production is valued only inside the university through doctoral programs and the career development of faculty. Moving from this rationale of separation to a rationale of openness to the socio-economic environment is more than a necessity. The results of the research must be valued "otherwise" to have an extension to the socio-economic sector through added value to having a positive impact on citizens.
