By Maria-Christina Doulami
AROUND 120 Turkish Cypriot students and teachers have been awarded scholarships by the European Commission, a press release announced yesterday.
This allows them to study an undergraduate or postgraduate programme or engage in research in any of the other 26 Member States of the EU for the duration of maximum one year.
The EU Scholarship programme will run for three consecutive academic years, from 2007-2010 and its total value amounts to €5 million. The grants are financed from the European Union Aid Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community.
The aim of the programme is “to give Turkish Cypriot students and teachers additional educational opportunities that will increase their knowledge in their own technical field while giving them the experience of studying and living in another EU Member State” said the announcement.
The main objective stated by the press release is “to bring the Turkish Cypriots closer to the EU and Europe closer to the Turkish Cypriot community.”
This opportunity will allow the 122 grantees to return to Cyprus after the completion of their studies and “contribute to the social and economic development of the Turkish Cypriot community” said the press release.
A former grantee summarises this unforgettable experience as “a new world” and says that “this scholarship gives me the opportunity of living at the standards of any other European citizen, makes me feel financially secure and lets me concentrate fully on my studies”.
“I feel that I am exploring new horizons, questioning, gaining new perspectives, making new friends.”
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008
Source: Cyprus Mail, 5 July 2008