European funds Related EU Grant Loans Programme(s):  Grants for the enhancement of quality in higher education and the promotion of intercultural understanding through co-operation with third countries

8,385 students and academics to come to study or teach in Europe.

The European Commission has awarded almost 10,000 new grants to be funded by the Erasmus Mundus programme in the academic year 2009-2010 to spend periods at partner institutions in countries outside Europe, according to a press release.

Erasmus Mundus is a co-operation and mobility programme in the field of higher education that aims to enhance the quality of European higher education and to promote dialogue and understanding between people and cultures through co-operation with countries outside the European Union. This year sees the start of the second phase of the Erasmus Mundus programme, which runs until 2013.