161 Indian students, including 88 women, have been awarded the prestigious Erasmus Mundus scholarships for the degree programmes starting in the academic year 2022-23 and with this, for the second consecutive time, India ranked first among the 167 countries.
To mark this success, the delegation of the European Union to India organized an event to commemorate this milestone. While congratulating the students, the EU Ambassador to India and Bhutan, Ugo Astuto said that till now, over 6,000 Indian students have received the benefit from Erasmus Mundus scholarships, according to the EU embassy in India.
"Erasmus+ scholarships offer a lifetime opportunity for professional and personal development. Apart from improving students' expertise, it allows them to gain a rich cultural experience, given Europe's diversity. I wish the students all the best as they embark on this exciting and enriching journey," he added.
According to the publication, the selected Indian students for the Erasmus Mundus 2022-2024 batch will get the opportunity to study and conduct research in at least two universities located in different European countries and obtain joint, double or multiple degrees.
It is pertinent to mention that this will be a fully-funded scholarship, which will cover the participation costs, travel costs and living allowance of the recipient.
Europe today has over 4,000 higher education institutions, from top-level research establishments to small, teaching-focused colleges, with more than 17 million students and 1.5 million academics, including 4,35,000 researchers, according to the embassy.
Indian students will stay and experience over 18 different European countries over a span of two years.
In 2022, the EU and India mark 60 years of diplomatic relations. For 60 years, the EU and India have worked together to reduce poverty, prevent disasters, expand trade, secure global goods, enhance security around the world and promote joint research in energy, health, agriculture and many other fields of mutual interest.
In 2021, 153 Indian students received the Erasmus Mundus scholarships.
ERASMUS or European Region Action Scheme for Mobility of University Students is a program established in 1987 by the European Union (EU) to support education, training of youth, and sport for students from across the globe, in partner universities, in partner countries across Europe. Since then, it has grown into the largest-ever program in the world for mobility opportunities and also funds cooperation projects.
With a budget of EUR 26.2 billion (Rs 2,096,94 crore) for 2021-2027, the main aim of this program is to promote academic and youth mobility and cooperation within Europe or between Europe and other regions in the world, including Asia.
( With inputs from ANI )
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