The National Agency for European Educational Programs and Mobility has approved 44 out of 173 applications for Erasmus +, the EU program for education, training, youth and sport, at the first public call running from January to February 2. A total of EUR 2.13 million has been approved for these projects.
Most of the projects are related to cooperation and mobility in higher education, others have been submitted by elementary and high schools. Several projects envisage support to vocational education and youth mobility, Deputy Minister of Education and Science Spiro Ristovski and the Agency’s Director, Darko Dimitrov, told a news conference on Friday.
“This diversity makes me particularly happy because it shows that the interest for preparation and implementation of projects aimed at developing international cooperation, encouraging partnerships between various stakeholders in education, boosting flexibility, is being fostered amongst different social categories, namely pupils, students, teachers, professors, civil associations, volunteers, etc,” stated Ristovski.
Macedonian education institutions are becoming more engaged in Europe’s educational space, according to Dimitrov. 14 higher education institutions will be awarded grants, he said.
“Through Erasmus + over 370 Macedonian students will have the chance to study in Europe or complete their internships in companies across Europe. Also, more than 80 university professors will be able to be engaged abroad through the mobility program.”
The second public call on educational projects ended on March 31, while the third one for the financing of youth projects is under way.
In 2016, Macedonia was awarded EUR 4.7 million as part of the Erasmus + program, the highest amount given to the country so far.
Macedonia is a full-fledged member of this educational program since 2014, when a budget of EUR 3.5 million had been approved. Over 90% of the funds from Erasmus + have been used in the past two years. b