Europe is the second most sought after destination for Indian students

Tomasz Kozlowski, European Union ambassador to India, feels that as close to 50,000 Indian students are in the EU presently, Europe is the second most sought after destination for Indian students wishing to pursue higher education.

The reasons for this are manifold, according to Kozlowski. The Continent is home to 4,000 higher educational institutions, 20 percent of all global universities, 20 percent of the world’s total population of students at 20 million and 1.5 million teaching staff. Every year, out of the 1.5 million foreign students arriving in Europe, 50,000 are reportedly Indian students. In addition, there are more than 12,500 undergraduate programmes, which are being taught in English in this bloc. He, however, feels that there would not be any immediate effect of Brexit on scholarships being offered by EU education institutions to students from India.

The Hindustan Times quotes Kozlowski as telling it that more than 4,000 Indian students, who have recently studied or are studying in Europe, have been or still are beneficiaries of Erasmus grants in the last few years. Around 1,700 grants were given to Indian research scholars under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Scholarships, which have enabled them to research and teach in Europe. The EU has recently revamped and introduced a larger programme known as Erasmus+ to provide scholarships to students from all over the world, which includes India as well.

According to Kozlowski, although Britain has long been the most preferred country for Indian students, they have also now started exploring the other European nations such as France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark and so on.

Meanwhile, the EU is said to have financed 15 projects of EU/India study centres that have profited 14 universities in India and 12 universities in European along with its students.

Kozlowski concluded that the EU was also going to collaborate with the FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) for its approaching Higher Education Summit.

If you are looking to study in the EU, approach Y-Axis to get professional advice and assistance to file for a visa from one of its 19 offices located in India’s eight major cities.