Dr. Awatef Hiyar is the President of the Hassan II University in Casablanca, Morocco. Dr. Hiyar received her PhD in Signal Processing and Telecommunications from the National Institute of Applied Arts in Toulouse in 2001, and is also the first Moroccan to obtain a diploma in Electrical Engineering from Normale Supérieure Cachan in 1992.

Dr. Hiyar was the President of the Center for Research in Green Technology (GreenTIC) at Hassan II University in Casablanca, Vice President of the e-Madina Smart City, and she also served as the Scientific Advisor for Smart Expo in Casablanca. In addition to her administrative duties, Dr. Hiyar is an active member in the field of teaching, where she held the position of Professor at Hassan II University in Casablanca since 2011.

Dr. Hiyar is an academic and international expert in the field of smart cities, and she participated in the membership of several committees, for example the IEEE Smart City steering committee. Dr. Hiyar has published many research papers in prestigious international journals.