Czech universities are celebrating 20 years of participation in the Erasmus program. Photo credit: @BrnoDaily.
Brno, Nov 24 (BD) – In the last two decades, more than 13,000 students from Masaryk University have travelled abroad to study, and thousands of foreign students came to study in Brno’s universities. At the beginning, only small numbers of foreign students would come to study in Brno. Now, with Brno’s universities opening many study programs in English and cooperating with their European partners, more and more foreign students are coming, improving the quality of the university environment and the overall image of the whole city.
A study carried out this summer by the “Brno International Student” Project, with the participation of 500 international students, found that around 95% of foreign students enjoy their studies in Brno. This year, the city was also ranked in the world’s top five best cities for students by British company Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), which specialises in the quality of education around the world. The results are based on the opinions of students and recent graduates (Read more in our article “Brno among top 5 best world cities for students again!”).
Erasmus, the student exchange program of the European Union, was created in 1987, and the Czech Republic joined it 11 years later. Over the last 20 years, according to the Czech National Erasmus Agency (DZS), 94,518 undergraduates and 31,600 university staff from the country have used the program to study abroad. “Currently, candidates can take advantage of opportunities for university education abroad or gaining practical experience in traineeships in 33 participating European countries, and since 2015 onwards they have been able to travel outside Europe,” said Lucie Durcová, the head of communication of DZS. At the same time, the Czech Republic is one of the top ten European Erasmus destinations.
International trips of this kind give students a chance to improve their foreign language skills. Recent research also indicates that employers appreciate Erasmus experience, so it is also good for the CV.
“Erasmus B-day Party“, a special international Erasmus anniversary party organized in cooperation between the three biggest universities in Brno, Masaryk University, VUT and Mendel University, will take place on November 27th in Fléda club on Štefánikova.
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