174 students win scholarship for higher studies in Europe

New Delhi: In the biggest ever annual selection of Indian students, as many as 174 candidates -- over 50 per cent of them women -- have been awarded the prestigious Erasmus Mundus scholarships for the degree programmes starting in the academic year 2023-24.

The selected Indian students of the Erasmus Mundus 2023-2025 batch, under the fully-funded scholarship programme by the European Union, will have the opportunity to study and conduct research in at least two universities located in different European countries and obtain a joint, double or multiple degree.

The delegation of the European Union to India rganised an event for the departing Indian students to mark this milestone. In 2022, 161 Indian students received the Erasmus Mundus scholarship.

“I am pleased to share that 174 Indian students have won the Erasmus scholarship this year, beating the figure of 161 Indian students from last year. Given how competitive the Erasmus programme is, this deserves a big applause. “The Erasmus+ programme not only offers students state-of-the-art education opportunities and professional development, but also allows them to gain rich cultural experience and a unique opportunity to explore Europe’s diversity. I wish all the students an enriching journey,” said HE Seppo Nurmi, Charge d’ Affaires of the EU delegation to India and Bhutan.

Hailing from 21 states and union territories across India, the largest number of this year’s Erasmus Mundus scholarship recipients come from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi and Kerala. Collectively, over the next two years Indian students will be hosted primarily in 17 different EU countries. The first host countries for the students who fly in for the current academic year include, France (48), Italy (27), Belgium (20), Finland (11), Spain (10), United Kingdom (5), Portugal (17), The Netherlands (04), Germany (06), Sweden (02), Austria (06), Denmark (04), Ireland (02), Hungary (02), Turkey (02), Czech Republic (04), Estonia (01), Greece (01), Norway (01) and Serbia (01). Worldwide, 2,835 students from 143 different countries have been awarded scholarships under the programme. PTI MG M.