Dr. Mahmoud Triki, SMU’s founder is a visionary. He spent thirteen years in the United States working closely with first class public and private universities both in his capacity as a student and as coordinator for the technology transfer program between North America and Tunisia. His vision was to establish a university in his country that mimics an American style education system for the benefit of students from the African and South-Mediterranean region.

In 1986, Dr. Triki prepared the first project document for the establishment of the African Institute of Management (AIM). Unfortunately, the absence of a legal framework for creating and operating private universities in Tunisia did not see this initiative to come to light.

In 2000 when the Tunisian government began to encourage the development of the private education sector, Dr. Triki, saw this as an opportunity to realize his vision. He decided to proceed with the launch of a regional center for higher education― The South Mediterranean University (SMU).