The European Union (EU) has offered postgraduate scholarships to 142 young Nigerians in top European universities for the 2024-25 academic session under its flagship educational programme, Erasmus+. 
 
According to the bloc, with this number, Nigeria retains its number one spot among beneficiaries of 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 awardees in Abuja yesterday, the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Samuela Isopi, underlined the significance of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree (EMJMD) programme, now in its 20th year, with its highly transformative impact on individuals, higher education institutions, and countries both within and outside of the EU.
 
The 142 Nigerian EMJMD awardees are among the initial batch of beneficiaries, announced by the organisers in Brussels.  Isopi stated that on successful completion of studies, an EMJMD scholar would receive a master’s degree to be jointly awarded by a consortium of universities. 
 
She noted that over the last two decades, Erasmus Mundus has brought together top universities from all over the EU and beyond to jointly organise excellent master’s courses, merging the best parts of each national programme to form a new, integrated and unique international study programme. 
 
Her words: “The programme offers a unique appeal to prospective students, with its high academic standards, unparalleled mobility paths and attractive financial support.
 
“The EU has been ramping up support for Nigeria’s higher education sector through its key funding programmes – Erasmus+ in the higher education sector, and Horizon Europe for research and innovation. Erasmus+ offers many opportunities apart from its flagship scholarship programmes: it supports mobility and short stays in Europe for researchers, students and staff, capacity-building of universities and TVET institutions through joint projects with sister European institutions.”