The first five students from Queen Mary’s new Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (ICM) Programme have arrived for the spring semester.
Queen Mary was awarded funding for the ICM Programme in June 2017, which facilitates exchanges beyond Europe for undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students, as well as staff.
The first five undergraduate students, who will be studying within Queen Mary’s School of Law, are from O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) near New Delhi and the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bangalore.
These ICM partnership exchanges highlight Queen Mary’s deepening relationship with both universities: the partnerships grew from a Master of Laws with JGU in 2014 and a research collaboration with NLSIU in 2015, as well as from bilateral exchange agreements with both universities since 2015.
Vayuna Gupta, an exchange student from NLSIU, said: “I picked Queen Mary because its School of Law is pretty well recognised around the globe, but also because London is a city where you can discover something new probably every day of the week.
“As an ambassador for my home institution, I hope that both Queen Mary and NLSIU see this exchange programme as encouraging for many more years to come.
“At the end of my semester, I hope to have learned from the courses I have picked, to properly understand how the legal education system works in the UK, and, of course, to have discovered London.”
Queen Mary is currently implementing Erasmus+ exchanges with 11 strategic partner institutions in seven countries beyond Europe: China, Colombia, India, Israel, Mexico, Russia and Uganda.
Commenting on the scheme, Professor Valsamis Mitsilegas, Academic Lead for Internationalisation, said: “The Erasmus+ ICM Programme supports Queen Mary’s international strategic aims and ambitions. By providing grants to fund both incoming and outgoing student and staff mobility, more individuals can benefit from an international experience. This complements the university’s ambition to increase the range of opportunities available to disadvantaged students, as well as their participation in mobility programmes. The Programme also allows us to strengthen and develop further teaching and research links with key international partners.”
The ICM Programme feeds into Queen Mary’s institutional strategy, which aims to give UK students more access to opportunities abroad in order to broaden their cultural awareness, increase their social capital and develop new skills.
Of the 42 UK universities who applied for ICM Programme funding in 2017, Queen Mary is ranked the fifth highest with over half a million Euros of total awarded funding.
Queen Mary has participated in the Erasmus programme since its inception in 1987 and intends to continue its Erasmus+ activities. The ICM Programme agreements at Queen Mary are department-specific and signed with strategically selected partners. Students from partner institutions may apply for an exchange through their home institution, following the terms of an agreement in place.
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