European Union (EU) has arrived in the national Capital with 26 out of its 28 member States with interests to attract Indian students across its universities as a means to strengthen the bilateral ties through an “educational exchange”.
Highlighting that EU has transferred 25 million Euros to the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development in support to India’s secondary education, Ambassador of the EU to India, Tomasz Kozlowski said the students from India are increasing in numbers every year.
He said out of the 1.5 million international students in Europe, 50,000 are Indians. While he announced the European Higher Education Fair 2016 at New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan on September 30 and October 1, he assured that the safety and security scene is in “good shape” post the recent Paris and Brussels attacks. He also talked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Brussel visit.
“Terrorism is a phenomenon practically everywhere and it should not deter the students from coming to Europe. We are sure about our safety and security scene to be in good shape…EU and India share water partnership, clean energy and environment partnership. We believe educational partnership is pertinent for maintaining the bilateral ties. Earlier we EU contributed 54,000 to primary education and recently 25 million were contributed in secondary education of India,” Kozlowski said in a Press conference at the European Union for India on Thursday.
To promote educational initiatives between the European Union and India and encourage more students to study in Europe, the Delegation of the European Union to India is also organising three-day virtual fair from September 20. Visitors unable to travel to Delhi will be able to participate in a virtual fair.
Representatives of more than 100 universities including the globally top ranked universities would be available for the interaction with the students, parents and the academicians. The fair will also provide a platform to Indian students to explore the vast scholarship opportunities available for studying in Europe, funded by the EU and Member States.
“More than 4,000 Indian students have benefited from Erasmus grants to study in Europe in recent years and about 1,700 grants have been given to Indian researchers under the ‘Marie SkIJodowska-Curie’ scholarships to teach and research in Europe. Recently, the EU has launched a revised and larger programme called ‘Erasmus+’ to provide scholarships to students across the world, including India. Visitors will be able to meet exhibitors face-to-face and ask them questions about the courses offered by their institution and how to apply,” the ambassador added.
This is the second edition of the fair. Earlier, the EU had organised a similar fair in 2014.