Press release: Most successful German university in EU programme

Nr. 142/2012 - 27.07.2012

Göttingen University obtains € 6.5 million for international scholarships

(pug) The University of Göttingen can offer scholarships to foreign scholars, researchers and students totalling 1.5 million Euros. The money is provided by “Action 2” of the EU’s Erasmus Mundus programme. Within this programme, European and third-country higher education institutions can jointly apply for funding to foster exchange mainly between scholars and researchers, but also administrative staff. In the most recent allocation round, the EU selected a total of 53 projects for funding: Göttingen University is coordinating two of these projects and is a partner in seven others. The EU is providing € 6.5 million to fund the two projects coordinated by Göttingen; the other seven projects will receive a total of € 17.9 million in funding.

Göttingen University, as coordinator, has received scholarship monies for “Action 2 – Erasmus Mundus Partnerships” amounting to over € 16.3 million since 2009. To date, over four million euros have been allocated to the university for around 350 scholarships. “The current number of 30 on-going projects not only makes Göttingen University by far the most successful German higher education institution within this programme, but also proves its firm place in the top-ranked group across Europe,” declared Professor Hiltraud Casper-Hehne, Vice President for Research and International Affairs. “Göttingen has been evolving into an attractive university location for a growing number of foreign students. The scholarships we've received promote further exchange.”

“We anticipate being able to offer around 120 scholarships for varying lengths of time,” added Dr. Uwe Muuss, Director of the International Office. “The overwhelming majority of these funds will be available to outstanding students and young researchers from foreign countries.“ The funding is not restricted to specific subjects; rather, it is open to students and researchers from many of the disciplines. The scholarships have terms of up to three years.

The projects especially promote exchange with countries which Göttingen University has declared to be focus regions for international cooperation: outside Europe, these include India, China, Argentina and Brazil, among others. The participating institutions include Göttingen’s partner universities in Pune and New Delhi (both in India), the University of Nanjing and the University of Science and Technology in Hefei (both in China), as well as the University of Bogor in Indonesia. Among the European partners are the renowned universities in the U4 network (Uppsala, Groningen, Gent and Göttingen).

“Göttingen University has received excellent marks in the international rankings over the past years,” noted Prof. Casper-Hehne. “This is yet another way in which Göttingen continues to attract foreign academics and students. For that reason, we need to find our guests additional accommodation for the coming winter semester. The University's Welcome Centre is grateful for any help that citizens can offer.” If you would like to help, please call Kerstin Schütte on (0551) 39-10492.

For further information on the Erasmus Mundus Action 2 projects that Göttingen University participates in, please visit www.uni-goettingen.de/de/311785.html.

Contact:
Netra Bhandari
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
International Office
Von-Siebold-Straße 2, 37075 Göttingen
Phone: +49 551 39-10694
Email: netra.bhandari@zvw.uni-goettingen.de
Internet: www.uni-goettingen.de/de/311055.html