142 Nigerians bag Erasmus+ postgraduate scholarships

142 Nigerians have been offered postgraduate scholarships by the European Union under its Erasmus+ programme, to study in top European universities in the 2024-25 academic session.

With this number, Nigeria retains its number one spot among beneficiaries of the EU postgraduate scholarships in Africa for the sixth year, as well as a place among the top five recipient countries globally.

At a pre-departure orientation organised for the scholarship awardees in Abuja on Thursday, July 4, 2024, the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Samuela Isopi, underlined the significance of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree (EMJMD) programme.

According to her, the programme now in its 20th year, has had a highly transformative impact on individuals, higher education institutions, and countries both within and outside of the EU.

While encouraging Nigerians to embrace the programme, Isiopi, who noted that the number was likely to increase, said most of the awardees would start their Erasmus+ journey in September 2024.

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She said the programmes would run for 12-24 months, with each beneficiary studying in at least three different universities in as many countries within and outside the EU during the period.

The Nigerian awardees have been admitted into some of the most in-demand cutting-edge programmes, including Renewables-based Power Systems, Chemical Innovation and Regulation, Public Health in Disasters, Biorefinery, European MSc in Marine Environment 2030, Soils science, Systems for Sustainable Engineering, Sustainable Mineral and Metal Processing Engineering, and Sustainable Ship and Shipping, among others.

The pre-departure orientation for the 142 Nigerian EMJMD awardees, who are among the initial batch of beneficiaries and announced by the organisers of the programme in Brussels, was aimed at providing the recipients with hands-on tips on how to make the best of the immense opportunities inherent in the prestigious scholarship.

On the successful completion of the programme, an EMJMD scholar will receive a master degree to be jointly awarded by a consortium of universities, in the framework of the EMJMD programme – a key component of Erasmus+.

The Star