Moldova keen to tap Indian universities, students for joint programmes
Moldova had applied to become a member of the EU in March 2022 and was granted “candidate” status in June 2022.
Moldovan education and research minister Dan Perciun, who is accompanied by senior officials of four state-run Moldovan universities, met Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday as the former Soviet nation, nestled between Ukraine and Romania, is keen on forging relations with the Indian government, universities, and students in the run up to the official inauguration of its embassy in New Delhi in December.
“We are here to build a relationship between our countries. The Moldovan embassy will be opening in December, and it will be a hallmark of the beginning of the relationship. So, we have come to meet the minister of education to explore joint opportunities. For us, there is a big interest in attracting more Indian students to Moldova,” Perciun told HT in an interview.
Even though the Moldovan embassy in India has been functioning for a year, the formal inauguration on December 15 will have the Moldovan foreign minister in attendance. “Visa processes will be sped up... No need to go to Istanbul, as was previously the case,” Perciun said.
The aim of this first meeting with the Indian government is to explore possibilities and the appetite for bilateral partnerships.
There are currently about 3,000 Indian students in Moldova, most of whom are studying medicine, he said. These students usually look to return to India after finishing their studies to practice medicine as they need to know Romanian to work there, acting as a hurdle that would not exist for, say, software engineering, Perciun said.
The Moldovan government is primarily focusing on two aspects: first, joint research opportunities where both countries contribute to a common pool of research funds; second, joint programmes so that students can split time between universities in the two countries.
After meeting Perciun, Pradhan tweeted, “Meaningful conversations on facilitating academic and research collaborations between HEIs of both our countries as well as mutual recognition of qualifications. Also, shared insights on NEP 2020 and efforts for internationalising India’s education... Minister Mr. Dan and I agreed to forge and deepen collaborations to unlock new opportunities for students, faculty, researchers, innovators and workforce of both our countries.”
On Wednesday, the Moldovan delegation will meet officials from Delhi University, Sharda University, and an association of Indian universities.
With DU, the focus will be on research opportunities and assessing interest in joint programmes. The Moldovan side is willing to offer resources from the state budget for joint research projects.
Sharda University, a private Indian varsity in Greater Noida, is already in conversation with the Technical University of Moldova to offer a course in winemaking and set up a school of veterinary medicine, the minister said.
Moldova had applied to become a member of the EU in March 2022 and was granted “candidate” status in June 2022. As a result, it can apply to the EU for research funds, something that could benefit its Indian partners, he said. Candidate status means that Moldovan universities can also participate in the EU student exchange programme, Erasmus.
Traditionally, for its research projects, Moldova has primarily partnered with public (state-run) universities. “That will be the primary focus, but we are not saying to other opportunities that might exist,” he said.
For a joint research fund, Perciun wants to start small with about a million euros (INR 8.82 crore) from each side to kickstart the fund. But this will depend on discussions with the Indian side. “We are doing something similar with Romania, pooling in resources from both countries and then joint teams apply for those kinds of [research] resources,” he said.
The Moldovan government is looking at India because of the number of students, and the quality of students. “Students here are very studious. We are looking for high quality applicants. We are not looking for big numbers. We are looking for people who want good, affordable education,” he said. They are also looking at China, Nepal, and Tunisia.
The State University of Moldova, for instance, has an agreement with China to take 500 Chinese students in 2025, its vice rector Vladimir Dolghi, said. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a number of Ukrainian students also made their way to Moldova, Romania and Poland to continue their studies, he said.
Perciun said it is too early to set up Moldovan campuses within India. The focus is to attract more Indian students to Moldova, and to “explore” whether Moldovan students can study in India, he said.
“Last year, we [the Moldovan government] offered five scholarships to Indian students to come to Moldova. This is something we will raise with the minister [Pradhan] as well whether we could offer scholarships to Indians coming to Moldova as an intergovernmental agreement and reciprocally, for Moldovans coming to India. I think it is important for this relationship to be a two-way street,” he said.
The recipients of the five scholarships, which was announced in May, are currently studying in the Technical University of Moldova, said Nina Putuntean, the head of international relations department at the university who is accompanying Perciun.