The European Commission has launched a new web portal called "Study in Europe" to promote the attractiveness of European Higher Education to students from other parts of the world.

The portal, at www.study-in-europe.org, is part of a campaign to increase the number of students from outside Europe who study in the EU. "Study in Europe" provides up-to-date information about the range of courses on offer in European higher education institutions, admission procedures, costs, scholarships and the higher education environment in Europe.

Potential students will find help to decide which country they should go to, which university they should choose, what they may need before they leave home and what will happen when they arrive at their chosen campus. "Study in Europe" covers thirty-two European countries, their universities and what it takes to live and study in them.

Ján Figeľ, European Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth, said, "European higher education offers outstanding quality, diversity and opportunity. Europe has a world-wide reputation as a centre of excellence in learning, and the "Study in Europe" project will make it easier for potential students around the world to see all that European higher education has to offer."

To help European universities and higher education institutions market themselves internationally more effectively, the Commission has also developed a "Study in Europe" Communication Tool-Kit. This Tool-Kit is free, and contains guidance on such issues as how to formulate key messages, and how to develop marketing techniques, media strategies, alumni relations and higher education fairs. An electronic version is available

Europe has more than four thousand higher education institutions, from top-level research establishments to small, teaching-focused colleges. Since the adoption of the Bologna Declaration in 1999, Europe´s higher education has entered a new phase of reform, aligning degree structures and opening the door to the mutual recognition of qualifications and cross-border periods of study. A comprehensive quality control process is planned for 2010.

"Study in Europe" will be present at two higher education fairs, in Moscow (13-15 November 2008) and Sao Paolo (21-22 March 2009).

Background

The "Study in Europe" campaign has been devised under terms of reference established by the European Commission to build on the success of the Erasmus Mundus programme. Its main objective is to promote the attractiveness of European Higher Education to students from other parts of the world.

The "Study in Europe" website (www.study-in-europe.org) is an important element of the project and is available in English, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese and Russian.

The site is an international, non-bordered portal that aims to make European Higher Education more easily accessible to students outside the EU (but it can be equally useful for students within the EU, of course). The following countries are currently covered:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.

The "Study in Europe "logo has been specially developed for the project.

(EUropa Rapid Press Relöease)