ADDIS ABABA – European Union awarded full Masters Scholarship for 60 Ethiopian students for the academic year of 2019-2020 through the EU’s flagship education initiative, Erasmus Mundus Scholarship Program.
The students will spend two years in prestigious Universities in 12 European countries to pursue their Master Degrees in various fields and each beneficiary student will attend a consortium of universities from at least two EU Member States. EU’s Ethiopia Delegation Deputy Head Luca Zampetti said on the scholarship awarding ceremony that Ethiopia is one of the top beneficiary countries of the Erasmus program and since 2004; it is one of the top five performing countries in the world and top in Africa both in terms of student selection and application in the program.
In 2019, 60 Ethiopian students selected as winners of this year’s Erasmus+ EU Scholarship in Master’s Degree whilst EU awarded the Erasmus Mundes Scholarship for 425 Ethiopian students during 2010- 2019. The Deputy Head stated that the scholarships highly contribute to Ethiopia’s human development effort in higher education. The program 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 the continent.
Besides 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 the students to excel and that they will return to Ethiopia with enhanced skills and knowledge useful for the country, as well as with fond memories of Europe.” He further indicated that Erasmus scholarship program 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 the country and further strengthen the strategic cooperation between Ethiopia and EU.
By awarding the much coveted scholarship to young Ethiopian students, the European Union is playing its part in assisting Ethiopia’s endeavor of the development of higher learning to address its need of more experts of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Humanities, the Deputy Head remarked.
The Erasmus Mundus 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 Programs at Masters or Doctorate level.
The Ethiopian Herald, September 7/2019
BY BILAL DERSO
