(Addis Ababa, 1 June 2023) The European Union has awarded full Masters Scholarship to 53 Ethiopian students for the academic year of 2023-2024 through the EU’s flagship education initiative, Erasmus+ European Scholarship Programme.
The students will spend 2 years full time in prestigious European Universities in 12 European countries to pursue their Master Degrees in various fields. Each beneficiary student will study for a master degree to be awarded by a consortium of universities from at least two EU Member States.
The Erasmus Mundus/Erasmus+ Scholarships, funded by the European Union, are exclusively awarded to students coming from both EU and non-EU countries that have been selected to attend one of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Programmes at Masters or Doctorate level.
The European Union’s Erasmus Mundus programme aims to enhance quality in higher education through scholarships and academic co-operation between universities in the EU and universities in other parts of the world.
The programme also aims at enhancing the quality of higher education and promoting dialogue and understanding between people and cultures. In addition, the programme contributes to the development of human resources and the international cooperation capacity of higher education institutions in countries by increasing mobility between the European Union and these countries.
Ethiopia is one of the top beneficiary countries of the Erasmus programme. Since 2004, Ethiopia is one of the top 5 performing countries in the world and top in Africa, both in terms of student selection and applications for the Erasmus Scholarship programme.
Since 2010, the European Union awarded the Erasmus Mundes Scholarship to more than 500 Ethiopian students.
EU Ambassador to Ethiopia, Roland Kobia said: “The Erasmus+ European scholarships highly contributes to the country’s human development effort in higher education.
The programme offers a lifetime opportunity for young Ethiopian students to pursue their studies at the highest level, to learn more about European cultures, languages, academic systems and, not least, people at some of the best universities in Europe. Apart from improving the student’s expertise, the scholarships are also meant to enrich the student’s life experiences, help create mutual understanding and openness between people and cultures.
We hope that these scholarships will help these students to excel and that they will return to Ethiopia with enhanced skills and knowledge useful for the country and themselves, as well as with fond memories of Europe.”
The Erasmus+ scholarship programme is a valuable opportunity for Ethiopia, as it will support the student’s future career development, contribute to the enhancement of knowledge and science in Ethiopia and further strengthen the strategic cooperation between Ethiopia and European Union.
By awarding this much coveted scholarship to Ethiopian students, the European Union is playing an important role in supporting Ethiopia’s endeavour of the development of higher learning to address its need of more experts of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Humanities.
