European Union awards Erasmus Plus scholarships to 200 Indonesian students and scholars

Two hundred (200) Indonesian students and scholars have successfully earned scholarships from the European Union (EU) under the Erasmus+ (Erasmus Plus) Programme for the 2019 academic year. Soon the Erasmus+ awardees will travel to various EU Member States to undertake Bachelor, Master, Doctorate or Post-Doctorate studies, either as full degrees or short-term exchange programmes. Some of the Erasmus+ awardees will study in two different universities located in different European countries.

During the award ceremony today (28/7) in Jakarta, Charge d'affaires a.i of the EU Delegation to Indonesia, Mr Charles-Michel Geurts, and Mr Adhrial Refaddin, Head of Section for International Collaboration of the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia, congratulated all awardees on their success in obtaining the Erasmus+ scholarships.

“Along with the lifetime opportunity to grow on a professional and personal level, the Erasmus+ Scholarship provides original and unique perspectives and lessons that the Erasmus Alumni will bring back home. So many Indonesian lives have been touched and enriched by their experience in studying in Europe. All Erasmus+ Scholarship awardees are potential leaders, in their respective fields and expertise, and we are proud to be able to contribute to the future of Indonesia in this way," said Mr Charles-Michel Geurts.

Mr Adhrial Refaddin said, “On behalf of the Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia, I would like to extend our sincere gratitude and the highest appreciation to the European Union for its tremendous effort to consistently support the development of Indonesian Universities' academic capacity by providing the Erasmus+ scholarship programme for our students and lecturers. The Erasmus+ scholarships work alongside our International Mobility Programme that has been a key strategy to promote the internationalisation of Indonesia's higher education. Through Erasmus+ scholarships, the European Union is helping us enhance the quality in education and our universities to embrace the internationalisation of higher education”.

Since 2004, more than 1,800 Indonesian students and scholars have benefitted from the EU’s Erasmus+ Scholarship Programme. The Erasmus+ scholarships also provide opportunities for Europeans to undertake short-term studies and teaching in various universities across Indonesia. European students and scholars also have the opportunity to come to Indonesia in 2019 and 2020 under this programme.

An Erasmus+ Indonesia awardee, Mr Pepri Saputra - who will undertake the Erasmus Mundus Master's Degree Programme in Society, Politics and Culture in a Global Context (Euroculture) – said: "My lifelong dream is moving forward! I could not have been more grateful of receiving this prestigious scholarship from the European Union. I worked hard and tirelessly doing what was expected of me which seemed to have paid off and now I am one of the awardees of the Erasmus+ Scholarship. By enrolling in a Master's programme called Euroculture, I will focus my studies and research on the migration and refugee policy. I hope to be able to be the change-maker and help with the global refugee crisis in the future.”

In addition to the Erasmus+ scholarships, the EU – in collaboration with ASEAN – is providing more than 500 scholarships for ASEAN students through the EU Support to Higher Education in the ASEAN Region (SHARE) Programme.

Through various scholarship schemes, the EU and its Member States award more than 1,600 scholarships per year to Indonesian students for studies in Europe.

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Indonesians studying in Europe

The EU is increasingly becoming a popular destination for Indonesian students seeking to study overseas. More than 6,000 Indonesian students departed for Europe to pursue their undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in 2016 (on a self-paying basis as well as under a scholarship scheme). In total, around 9,600 Indonesian students are currently studying in Europe.

There are more than 4,000 higher education institutions in Europe and over 15,000 master's degrees in Europe are taught in English. Many of them can be found among the top 100 universities in the world, offering state-of-art facilities and countless research opportunities.

About the European Union

The European Union (EU) is a unique economic and political union between 28 Member States. Together, they have built a zone of stability, democracy and sustainable development whilst maintaining cultural diversity, tolerance and individual freedoms. In 2012, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe. The EU is the largest trade block in the world; as well as the world's largest source and destination of foreign direct investment. Collectively, the EU and its Member States are the largest donor of Official Development Assistance (ODA), providing more than half of ODA globally.

The 28 EU Member States are (in alphabetical order): Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

About Erasmus Plus (Erasmus+)

Erasmus+ is the €16 billion EU-financed programme for education, training, youth and sport. It is built on the well-known and respected EU brand of the highly successful Erasmus student exchange programme.

For the academic year 2020, applications for the Erasmus+ Master Course will open around October 2019. Further information on the Erasmus+ Scholarship programme can be found at:

https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/opportunities/individuals_en

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/scholarships_en

About EU SHARE Scholarships

Officially launched in May 2015, SHARE is a €10 million EU grant-funded programme with the principal objective of strengthening regional cooperation, enhancing the quality, competitiveness and internationalisation of ASEAN higher education institutions and students, and contributing to an ASEAN Community. From 2016 onwards, SHARE provides some 500 scholarships for ASEAN university students to put the improved systems to the test, mainly by supporting student exchange and credit recognition within the ASEAN region. ASEAN is working with a consortium – led by British Council and comprising the DAAD, EP-Nuffic, Campus France, ENQA and EUA – between 2015 and 2019 to implement SHARE. All application details, requirements and deadlines can be found at www.share-asean.eu/scholarship