About
A career built on curiosity
Slim Masmoudi is an accomplished academic and researcher with over 27 years in higher education, including seven years in the Middle East.
- Based in
- Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Doctoral affiliation
- Université Lumière Lyon 2
- Languages
- Arabic, French, English
- Causes
- Arts and Culture, Economic Empowerment, Children, Education, Science and Technology
Slim received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology, with the highest distinction, from Université Lumière Lyon 2 (France) and has taught and studied at the University of Tunis since 1998. His research spans emotional intelligence, perception, problem-solving, reasoning, decision-making, and creativity, in close relationship with knowledge structures, semantic memory, and youth vulnerability and resilience.
As Associate Professor of Cognitive Psychology, he serves as President of the Crime Prevention Department and Advisor for Scientific Research at the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences (NAUSS) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the academic body of the Arab Interior Ministers Council serving all 22 Arab League member states. His contributions include four academic Higher Diplomas and a Master's programme in Crime Prevention, and leadership of the Higher Diploma in Drug Control Strategies.
In this role he is a senior expert to leading international organizations, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT).
He is the founding member of the Innovation Lab (iLab@NAUSS), where his contributions span the vision, mission, and physical design of the lab and its research tools. He leads 'Braindates' and Ideation Workshops in Behavioral and Biometrics Research for the international research community.
In 2026 he was appointed to the Tunisian Engineer Label Committee of the Tunisian Order of Engineers, alongside his membership in the Engineering Sciences Council, contributing to the redefinition of engineering education quality standards in Tunisia.
From 2014 to 2020, he served as Deputy Dean, Director of Internships, and Director of the Career Center at the Faculty of Humanities at Tunis, building entrepreneurship and career-readiness programs for students.
Trilingual: Arabic, French, English. Originated two research methods: CogNet/CogMap for cognitive mapping and MacTRACE for content analysis.
Education
Ph.D., Cognitive Psychology (Highest Distinction)
1998Université Lumière Lyon 2
Dissertation: "Modélisation cognitive de l'expertise de débogage de systèmes informatiques complexes." Host labs: LEACM (Lyon 2, Pr. Robert Martin) and LISI (Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Pr. Jean-Marc Fouet). Jury included Pr. René Amalberti and Pr. Claude Bastien.
DEA / Master 2, Cognitive Psychology (Highest Distinction)
1993Université Lumière Lyon 2
Specialty: Psychology, Cognitive Modeling.
Master / Maîtrise, Psychology
1987 to 1992Université de Tunis
Faculty of Humanities at Tunis. President of the Psychology Club, Maison de la Culture Ibn Khaldoun.
What colleagues say
“A senior international consultant and expert in Emotional Intelligence and Human Potential Development, and an innovative professor of Cognitive Psychology.”
Youssef Fennira
Chief Technical Advisor, International Labour Organization
“An expert in Emotional Intelligence and Human Potential Development, an innovative professor of Cognitive Psychology, and a Career Center Director.”
Pr. Jelel Ezzine
Fellow, World Academy of Art and Science