LOC14:54
11:54 GMT
BRUSSELS, July 11 (KUNA) -- The European Commission Thursday launched a new
education strategy to ensure that Europe remains the most attractive
destination for international students.
Androulla Vassiliou, EU Commissioner for Education and Culture presenting
the new strategy at a press conference said that the international higher
education landscape is changing dramatically in shape and size, with greater
competition from countries such as China, India and South Korea.
"This calls for an overhaul in the way Europe's 4,000 universities operate
- not only internationally, but also in how they deliver education to European
students in their home countries," she said.
The new EU programme for education called ERASMUS-PLUS will allocate more
than 400 million euro a year to support international student exchanges and
increased cooperation between European universities and their partners
worldwide.
Europe currently attracts around 45 percent of all international students,
but its competitors are rapidly increasing their investment in higher
education, said the EU official.
Overall, the number of higher education students in the world is expected
to quadruple, from around 100 million in 2000 to 400 million in 2030, with
particularly strong growth in Asia and Latin America, she noted.
There are more than 19 million students in European Union universities and
other higher education institutions.
"While many European universities have good links inside the EU, many lack
a clear strategy for strengthening ties with non-European partners. This
urgently needs to change. The Commission will support EU Member States so that
they can develop their international higher education networks," added
Vassiliou. (end)
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