By EuAsiaNews,
Brussels : The European Union’s Erasmus Mundus scholarships for the academic year 2008/09 have been granted to 2000 students and 450 teaching staff from outside Europe, of which 164 have been selected from India.
The scholarships allow students to study in Europe for one or two years and obtain a Master’s degree from one of the 103 Erasmus Mundus Masters Courses offered by the Consortia of European higher education institutions, according to an European Commission statement.
One of the characteristic features of the Erasmus Mundus programme is that student grantees are allowed to follow their courses in at least two universities located in different European countries. This gives them the opportunity to learn about European cultures, languages and
academic systems.
Erasmus Mundus is the European Union’s programme, created in 2004, to enhance the quality of European higher education through continuous worldwide dialogue and cooperation with third countries.
The programme has allocated 33 million euro for the period 2005-2009 for scholarships to Indian postgraduate students.
In 2008, 17 new partnerships of Erasmus Mundus Masters Consortia with higher education institutions in non-European countries were selected. Altogether, they encompass 62 universities from 28 different third countries.
The second phase of Erasmus Mundus (2009-13) is expected to start next year with a planned total budget of 950 million euros.
Its main new features include joint doctoral programmes and an intensified structural cooperation with third-country higher education institutions. In addition, the new proposal integrates a mobility scheme for all levels of higher education.
The 4th Erasmus Mundus Student Seminar and a meeting of its alumni will be held on 6-7 June at the University for Foreigners of Perugia, in Italy.