PARIS, Oct 8: Aimed at strengthening educational ties between the two countries, the Government of France has commenced a ‘Choose France Tour’ on Sunday to attract Indian students to take up overseas programmes in the European country, an official said.
The Choose France Tour aligns with the French government’s goal to host 30,000 Indian students in France by 2030. Accordingly, 50 French educational institutions, including universities and colleges, would take part in the Choose France Tour, which would be held in various cities across the country between October 8 and 15.
While the inaugural edition of the overseas education fair commenced today, the programme would be held in Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai. The French Institute in India which is the educational, cultural and scientific wing of the Embassy of France, is organising the Choose France Tour in collaboration with Campus France and Alliance Francaise, an official release said.
“Apart from the fact that France and India have an agreement for the mutual recognition of academic qualifications, which eases admissions in each other’s institutions, President (Emmanuel) Macron has also announced an ambitious goal of welcoming 30,000 Indian students to France by 2030,” said French Institute in India Country Director Emmanuel Lebrun-Damiens.
In August, France announced new initiatives that included the 30,000 student target and launched ‘International French Classes’ via online to overseas students. The government also offered a five-year validity visa for Indian alumni taking up educational programmes in French universities. “Welcoming Indian students to our academic institutions will lay the foundation for cultural comprehension and lifelong friendship between our two nations,” Lebrun-Damiens said. Students can opt to study management, engineering, hospitality, humanities, arts, architecture and design totalling 1,700 programmes in English language in educational institutions in France.
Besides targeting the students during the fair, the Indian and French educators would also explore potential collaborations between the two countries. (PTI)
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