New Delhi, August 2. Nearly 450 Indian students and faculty have been awarded Erasmus+ scholarship and mobility grants funded by the European Union to study in top-ranked universities across Europe this year. With grants also offered by EU member states, more than 50,000 Indian students are pursuing higher education in Europe.

Of the 450 Erasmus+ Indian students awarded scholarship/grants this year, 89 have been awarded fully-funded scholarships for the Erasmus Mundus joint Master’s degree programmes (EMJMD), which enable them to attend classes in two different countries of Europe. With a 23 percent jump in Indian nationals bagging Erasmus+ scholarships compared to last year, India remains one of the Top 5 recipients of Erasmus scholarships. In addition, 350 students and faculty from Indian higher education institutions have been given scholarships under Erasmus’ International Credit Mobility (ICM) programme which funds mobility agreements between European and Indian universities.

“Europe has much to offer in terms of globally ranked universities with high academic and research standards. European universities offer a unique blend of tradition and innovation, state-of-the-art facilities and cutting-edge research opportunities,” says Tomasz Kozlowski, ambassador of the European Union to India.

Taj-Les Roches concordat

Mumbai, August 2. The Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL, aka Taj Group), South Asia’s largest hospitality company, and the Switzerland-based Les Roches Global Hospitality Education, ranked #3 for hospitality management in the QS World University Rankings 2019, are joining forces to address the skills gap of India’s travel and tourism industry.

“We look back on a long-standing presence in India and are thrilled to associate Les Roches’ Swiss model of education with IHCL, developing necessary skills and promoting career opportunities in the hospitality industry,” said Dr. Christine Demen Meier, managing director of Les Roches, addressing a press conference in Mumbai.

A dedicated initiative titled ‘The next General Manager of India’ designed for young hospitality professionals, will award one full scholarship to study Les Roches’ MBA in global hospitality management programme in Switzerland, followed by a fast-track intern programme at an IHCL hotel. Additionally, Les Roches will offer 50 percent scholarships to five runners up. Shortlisted applicants who meet the programme’s admission requirements will submit a business case study and compete at a final selection event in Mumbai.

Embassy-Cerner CSR initiative

Mumbai, August 14. Embassy Group, one of India’s largest real estate developers and the US-based Cerner Corporation, a global health platform and innovation company, have promoted a consortium of corporates and NGOs to improve health and hygiene conditions in 62 government schools of Bangalore.

Under its Corporate Connect Program, Embassy Office Parks will build a coalition of its business park tenants with aligned corporate social responsibility (CSR) mandates and experienced NGOs to address a diverse number of challenges faced by government schools. Since 2016, Cerner and Embassy together have provided free health check-ups and maintained medical records of more than 4,000 students of 14 Embassy adopted government schools.

“At Embassy, we strongly believe that collaboration in the CSR space is key to creating sustainable and in-depth impact among our communities. We are glad to be partnering with Cerner to proactively improve the health and hygiene conditions of government school students through meaningful interventions including daily maintenance of school premises and toilets,” says Aditya Virwani, COO, Embassy Group.

Krea U admits first batch

Sri City, August 13. Krea University, a greenfield liberal arts and sciences university pioneering ‘interwoven learning’, inducted its first cohort of undergraduate students at its School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences at Sri City, 74 km from Chennai. 114 students were selected for the inaugural undergraduate class after a first-of-its-type comprehensive admission process. The classes of these students commenced on August 19.

According to a Krea spokesperson, the university’s admission process which measures more than scholastic abilities, has ensured a diverse set of students with extra-curricular interests in sports, music, dance, and community service. With a male-female gender ratio of 55:45, the first batch of students is from 18 states of India with varied backgrounds, and includes student entrepreneurs, budding authors, promising cricketers and sportspersons. Under the university’s needs-blind admission and needs-aware financial assistance process, “almost 50 percent of students have been offered some form of financial assistance and 10 percent of the class are first generation college students”.

Addressing Krea’s first batch Dr. Sunder Ramaswamy, vice chancellor of the university said: “At Krea, you will have the opportunity to challenge yourself and create your own paths, to essentially forge your own history. We need to educate and prepare ourselves for the jobs and careers which are yet to come into existence. I urge you to take advantage of our unique undergraduate programme, put together by some of the finest minds in the world, to not only achieve academic excellence but social well-being.”