Erasmus+: Students told to avail EU programme opportunities

97 students have received master’s scholarship under the initiative

Higher Education Commission (HEC) Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri on Monday urged the higher education institutions, faculty and students to avail the opportunities offered under the Erasmus+ Programme.  Addressing a workshop launched by HEC on Erasmus+ Programme to create awareness about the opportunities offered under the European Union’s Erasmus+ Programme for higher education institutions, students and staff from the partner countries outside the European Union, he said the programme is a great opportunity that is under-utilized in Pakistan.

“We need to realise the significance of this opportunity and avail ourselves of it in a real sense,” he emphasised. He stressed the need for submission of an increased number of research proposals to avail the opportunities under the programme.

He observed that the number of research proposals submitted under the programme has marked an increase in the last few years. He stated that the HEC wants to have a boost in student and faculty exchange initiatives, as engagement with the world is a very fruitful, especially for the practice of quality education and research. “The more people apply under the programme, the better it is for the country’s academic and socio-economic prosperity,” he underlined.



In his remarks, HEC Executive Director Lt Gen (Retd) Muhammad Asghar said the Erasmus+ Programme offers tremendous opportunities to Pakistani students, researchers, and faculty members.

He emphasised on creating awareness among the academic community and students about the opportunities offered under the programme. Earlier, HEC Consultant Dr Mehmood-ul-Hassan Butt briefed the participants about the background and objectives of Erasmus+ Programme. He urged the universities and faculty members to promote the programme so that maximum people could benefit from it.

He said the programme was launched in Pakistan in 2016 and only 35 students received scholarships. He maintained that the number of scholarships awardees reached 60 in the following year, adding that 97 scholars have received scholarships in the current year. He informed the participants that the target for 2019 is to avail 250 scholarships for Master’s degrees and at least four capacity building institutional grants.

It is worth mentioning here that Erasmus+ is an education programme that is aimed at promoting academic and cultural understanding between the European countries and partner countries.

Under the programme, the EU extends opportunities to the students and teaching staff worldwide to go to European institutions to acquire higher education or teach under Erasmus+ Programme.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2018.