The European Union to organize Higher Education Virtual Fair with 54 European Institutes from Oct 25-28

New Delhi, 24 October 2018: The European Union is organizing an education fair bringing together European higher education institutes and Indian students. Through a series of webinars, the students will get an opportunity to explore a wide range of education courses offered by 54 leading universities from 20 countries of the European Union. More than 40,000 students have registered online to participate in these webinars till now. Aspiring students will get a chance to directly interact with officials from leading higher education institutions (HEIs) in the webinars to be organised as part of the “European Higher Education Virtual Fair (EHEVF) – India 2018” on 25-28 October 2018 (Phase 2). Phase 1 of the higher education virtual fair was held on 28-29 September.

The Ambassador of the European Union to India, H.E. Mr. Tomasz Kozlowski, said, “This is the third edition of the EU Higher Education Virtual Fair – a unique opportunity to connect some of the best European academic institutions with Indian students. At any point of time, there are more than 50,000 Indian students pursuing education endeavours in Europe. Over the years, increasing number of Indian students have started looking at European Universities due to unparalleled quality, diversity and opportunities it offers them. Europe is considered as one of the best destinations for international students because of the wide variety of English-taught courses on offer, the richness of campus life and the proximity to Asia. This virtual fair is an endeavour to further our European offerings to Indian students. In Phase 2, we are going to have 40 webinar sessions over 4 days. I am hopeful that more Indian students will make best use of this opportunity and explore education opportunities with Europe.”

Since 2015, the European Union has been organizing the virtual education fair promoting Europe as a destination for higher education and research for Indian students and academic community. The fair provides aspirants with the latest information and advice directly from EU-based HEIs, EU Member States representatives, and subject experts through different tools of the Virtual Fair that include a series of webinars and a dedicated web-portal: https://www.study-europe.net

This education fair endeavours to build bridges for longer term institutional linkages between the European Union and Indian institutions. This year 73 Indian students have received a scholarships to study a Joint Master’s degree in Europe under the EU funded Erasmus + scholarship programme. Till today, Erasmus has awarded 5,700 scholarships to Indian nationals, increasing @15% annually. From 2014 to now, close to 200 Indian Higher Education Institutes have participated in Erasmus+ projects.

The education fair is catering to students in various phases of their education journey. It seeks to connect with Indian high school students entering college, or college students who have recently graduated or graduating next year and are looking to go abroad for higher education, as well as post-graduates looking for higher education and research opportunities in the EU.

In the online sessions taking place, students will get an opportunity to hear in more detail on different study courses offered by more than 50 leading universities from 20 countries from the European Union. The 20 Member States participating are Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and UK.

The study programs that will be presented in the webinars range from Management, Dentistry, Biosciences, Journalism to Engineering, among others. The EHEVF website has over 200 dedicated web pages for all participating universities that provide authentic and updated information about the educational courses and degrees available under different streams at the undergraduate and graduate level. Students can search for universities according to subject, tuition fee or country of choice.

Why Europe?

Europe is the second most preferred destination for Indian students wishing to study abroad. Indian students are most interested in STEM subjects in European universities and newer areas like Artificial Intelligence, Biosciences, Law, Media & Film Studies etc.

With one-fifth of world’s universities and one-fourth of the world’s students, Europe has the widest and most diverse range of high standard education and research. In fact, World University rankings confirm that in terms of quality, European universities are among the best, and overall, about half the universities in international rankings are from the EU.

Universities in the European Union provide world class education with state-of-the-art facilities and high academic standards. With their rich history and heritage, these institutions provide a cultural experience, exposure to a multicultural environment and new languages. On offer are a number of scholarships and financial support options, low tuition fees and living costs compared to other destinations. Universities provide students with diversity and course flexibility with a range of study programmes across various disciplines in undergraduate, post graduate, PhD/Doctoral and short-term courses. By pursuing academic courses at these universities, students earn international experience and skills valued by recruiters that can boost their career and job prospects.