The successful graduates will be allowed to follow one of the 129 postgraduate courses held in selected universities throughout Europe, offering Erasmus Mundus European Masters and Doctorates. Each graduate will have to attend at least two universities in different European countries, depending on which universities are jointly holding their chosen course.

The countries that are open to the winners of the Vietnamese Erasmus Mundus scholarships are France , the UK, Germany, Italy, Norway, Belgium, Spain, the Czech Republic, Slovenia,  Poland , Denmark and Portugal.

The Vietnamese students will receive allowances of between 21,000 EUR and 42,000 EUR for masters courses and between 61,000 EUR and 129,000 EUR for doctorates depending on the duration of the course.

Vandenberge said that the number of scholarships awarded to Vietnamese citizens is increasing each year.

“In 2004, there were just three scholarships available to Vietnamese graduates compared to the 49 at present. We hope the number of scholarships available to Vietnamese students to study overseas at world class universities will be even higher in the future,” he said.

The EC delegation to Vietnam will hold a Erasmus Mundus Roadshow in Hanoi , Da Nang City and HCM City from Sept. 7-9 to provide students and lecturers with more information on the scholarships programme.

The Erasmus Mundus programme is a joint education initiative which promotes the European Union as a global centre of excellence for learning./.