Brussels, 10/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - The first "Erasmus Mundus Student and Alumni Association" (EMA) General Assembly will be held on 11-12 October during a seminar in Brussels that will lead to the adoption of the EMA statute and the designation of the first EMA president. During this seminar, around one hundred students who have enrolled for the exam will be able to exchange their ideas acquired in different European universities. The Commission will use this occasion to examine reactions to results of the "Global Promotion Project" that is meant to raise the profile and appeal of European higher education worldwide, with an emphasis on the promotion of Europe as a destination for international students. Ján Figel', European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, who will be welcoming the students, was delighted and promised that “we will exchange views and experiences so that we can make the programme an even greater success in the future”.
Since the launch of the Erasmus Mundus programme in 2004, 80 joint masters courses have become operational, and over 4,000 students from third countries have received an Erasmus Mundus scholarship to obtain a degree in Europe. 23 new Erasmus Mundus masters courses will become operational in the autumn of 2008, taking the total number of courses selected during the first phase of the programme to 103. The next (and last) participants selected during this first phase will be selected in spring 2008. The total number of individuals having received an Erasmus Mundus scholarship will have now exceeded 6,000. Also, 10 new Erasmus Mundus projects, which aim at enhancing the attractiveness of European higher education, have just been selected. This will take the total number of projects selected under the first phase of Erasmus Mundus to 33. In July 2007, the European Commission proposed to launch the new, second phase of the Erasmus Mundus programme, for the period 2009-13. The Commission proposed a budget of just over €950 million euros over the five-year period concerned. The proposal will be debated further in the months to come. (il)