Welsh students and universities are likely to benefit from plans to extend the European Union’s Erasmus student exchange programme.
Proposals to increase the number of scholarships for European students have been approved. This should see an rise in the number of students studying abroad as well as increasing the number of students coming to and from Europe from outside the EU.
The plans are likely to be a great boost for Welsh universities, as they will now be able to attract many of the best foreign students and academics.
This will be helped by an increase in funding to promote links between Welsh universities and those outside Europe.
Already many Welsh students are making use of the Erasmus project, with a total of 458 students studying abroad in 2007/08.
The Plaid MEP, Jill Evans, who represents the whole of Wales in the European Parliament, said: “The aim of this multi million pound scheme is to help our universities attract the best foreign students and academics, forge links with institutions abroad and make it easier for our students to study abroad. Already, the scheme has proved extremely popular in Wales with hundreds of Welsh students studying overseas every year thanks to Erasmus, and hundreds of overseas students coming here to study.
