Even as Britain is planning to make it difficult for overseas students including from Commonwealth countries like India to get visas for studying in universities in the UK, good news has come from Brussels for Indian post-graduate students wanting to go for higher studies in Europe.
The European Commission is encouraging Asian, and especially Indian students, to study in one of hundreds of European universities that have joined the European Union's Erasmus Mundus programme.
The programme officially launched last year, aims at fostering co-operation and mobility in the field of higher education and promoting the EU as a centre of excellence in learning around the world.
The India Window of the Erasmus Mundus is being provided with Euros 33 million over a period of three years. It will provide full scholarship to just over 900 students, in any discipline of their choice in any of the 19 universities spread over the length and breadth of the EU. The grant will cover all expenses, tuition fee and boarding and lodging.
The selection, HT was told, would be made by a professional agency employed for the purpose by the EU Mission in India for the courses starting this September. The applicants would be chosen strictly on the basis of merit. The students would be required to apply to the EU Mission in New Delhi.
A senior diplomat at the Indian embassy in Brussels told HT that Indian students could also apply for scholarship outside the India Window, through the general channel. Hence, the seats are not limited to 900 - that is the number reserved.
In fact, India, with total scholarship worth 33 million euro (one euro is equal to about Rs 56) earmarked for the 2005-2008 period, is the biggest recipient of the Asian window within the Programme followed by China (9 million euro) for 2005-2007 period.
India's ambassador to the EU, Rajendra M. Abhyankar, had earlier signed the India-EU agreement under which Indian students could enrol under the Erasmus Mundus programme.
{{/usCountry}}India's ambassador to the EU, Rajendra M. Abhyankar, had earlier signed the India-EU agreement under which Indian students could enrol under the Erasmus Mundus programme.
{{/usCountry}}The programme, which has a total budget of 230 million euro, provides scholarships for students from non-EU countries. Consortia of at least three EU universities offer the courses.
The popularity Erasmus Mundus is apparently growing and an additional 57.3 million euro have been earmarked for the scholarship scheme. More than hundred European universities in 18 countries are participating in 36 master level courses in fields like arts, sciences and humanities.
In the academic year 2005-2006, Erasmus scholarships are expected to be granted to 900 students and 100 academics.
According to the latest report The European Commission has selected a further 17 Erasmus Mundus master's courses, involving 69 European universities new to the scheme. The selected master's courses will start at the beginning of the next academic year (2005-2006) and come on top of the 19 that already started last autumn.
"After a successful launch last autumn, this new selection of Erasmus Mundus master's courses is an illustration of the growing importance of this programme," said Ján Figel', European commissioner in charge of Education, Training, Culture and Multilingualism.
"European universities continue to come forward in big numbers to participate in the programme, which responds to a real need among higher education institutions and which contributes to restore Europe to a leading position on the international university scene".
Guide to applicants
Of the 17 courses chosen for a period of five years, 16 will come into operation fully in 2005-2006, while one will have the status of a preparatory year. 69 European universities in 18 countries are participating in the courses selected. The countries most prominently represented are the United Kingdom (11 universities), Germany (8), the Netherlands (7) as well as Sweden and France (6 each).
Together with the 19 courses selected last year, a total of 36 Erasmus Mundus master's courses, covering a wide spread of disciplines, will thus be operational as from autumn 2005.
The first generation of master's courses is presently hosting the first recipients of Erasmus Mundus scholarships (the object of Action 2): 140 students and 42 academics, all with excellent academic records and chosen by their universities.
This second generation will concern around 1000 recipients (900 students; 100 academics). As the number of selected master's courses grows, thousands of students from all the world will be hosted by the courses every year. They will come to study in Europe for up to two years.
Action 3 of the programme - which will enable European students and researchers to go to non-EU countries to enrich their studies - will be launched later this year.