ERASMUS Mundus Program Guide - EACEA - Europa

6 ACTION 2 : ERASMUS MUNDUS PARTNERSHIPS
6.1 EMA2 - STRAND 1: PARTNERSHIPS WITH COUNTRIES COVERED BY
ENPI, DCI, EDF AND IPA INSTRUMENTS 61
The European Union recognises the importance of higher education for economic and social development.
Higher education plays a crucial role in producing high quality human resources, in disseminating scientific
discovery and advanced knowledge through teaching and educating future generations of citizens, high level
professionals and political leaders, who in turn can contribute to better governance and social cohesion in
Europe and abroad.
The increasing speed at which existing knowledge becomes obsolete, and the rapid changes in the means by
which it is delivered and renewed, will require high adaptability of the education sector to meet the needs of
the economy and of society as a whole. In a context of globalisation, countries that are only weakly
connected to the global knowledge economy will find themselves increasingly at a disadvantage and will not
be able to generate adequate socio-economic conditions for the population.
Against this background, the promotion of structured cooperation between the European Union and thirdcountry
higher education institutions and, in particular, the facilitation of institution-based mobility is a winwin
situation not only to increase the impact of higher education in third-countries' sustainable development,
but also to create lasting links and generate mutual enrichment and understanding between peoples.
In the period 2004-2008, country- and region-specific scholarships were funded through the European
Commission External Co-operation Instruments in order to support the development needs and specificities
of those country/regions. These were not covered by the global Erasmus Mundus I scholarships programme.
In this framework several specific "Erasmus Mundus External Co-operation Windows" (EMECW) were
"opened" for students and staff from targeted third-countries and higher education institutions from the
European and third-countries were invited to form partnership projects aiming at hosting students,
researchers and academic staff. Owing to its success, the geographical coverage of Erasmus Mundus
External Cooperation Windows was progressively enlarged. Since February 2009, the External Cooperation
Windows (ECW) programme has been included within the umbrella of the wider Erasmus Mundus 2009-
2013 programme and it has become now: "Erasmus Mundus Action 2 Strand 1- Partnerships".
EMA2 - STRAND 1 aims to promote European higher education, to help to improve and enhance the career
prospects of students and to promote intercultural understanding through cooperation with third-countries, in
accordance with EU external policy objectives in order to contribute to the sustainable development of thirdcountries
in the field of higher education. It includes partnerships between European and third-country
higher education institutions, exchange and mobility at all levels of higher education, including a scholarship
scheme. This means support for mobility for students (undergraduate, master, doctoral and post-doctoral)
and for staff (academic and administrative).
As was the case under EMECW, country-specific cooperation actions are foreseen within EMA2-STRAND1
(the so-called “geographical windows"), which translates a political choice of several countries or regions
61 ENPI - European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument
DCI - Development Cooperation Instrument
IPA - Instrument of Pre-accession Assistance
EDF - The European Development Fund (EDF) is the main EU instrument for providing assistance for development cooperation
under the Cotonou Agreement: "the Partnership Agreement between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of
States of the one part and the European Union and its Member States of the other part".
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