Originally a medical school, the University of Dakar is the result of a long evolution in the Senegalese academic system. It was officially inaugurated in 1959 and owes its current name, which dates from 1987, to the historian and anthropologist Cheikh Anta Diop.
The Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) is one of the oldest academic establishments in French-speaking Africa and counts some 40’000 students in five faculties: science and technology, medicine and pharmacy, languages and human sciences, education and training, and law and political sciences. Its scope reaches far beyond the borders of Senegal since students also come from West Africa and Europe. Since 1994, the UCAD is also home to a Higher National Institute for General Education and Sport (INSEPS). This institute is the direct partner of the CIES in the organisation of its sports management programme.
The UCAD has recently launched several significant projects (a multicultural centre, a centre of technology, a sports centre and an audio-visual centre) which truly consolidate its reputation in this 21st century. The CIES signed a partner agreement with the UCAD in April 2006.