The Delegation of the EU to Malaysia organised a fruitful Erasmus+ Information Session at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Kuala Lumpur Campus. The main speaker of the event was Karolina Garbaliauskaite from the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), who presented the five opportunities of the Erasmus+ for international cooperation. The info session was hosted by UTM KL Pro Vice-Chancellor YBhg. Professor Ts. Dr. Abdul Latif bin Saleh and moderated by Associate Professor Dr. Mohd Ariffin B. Abu Hassan, the Erasmus+ National Focal Point (ENFP) for Malaysia. YBhg. Datin Noorazah binti Omar from the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) delivered opening remarks, where she stressed the fostering of the collaboration between EU and Malaysia through higher education initiatives.

Attended by a total of 75 participants representing Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) across nine Malaysian states, the info session also served as a platform for beneficiaries of current Erasmus+ grants and CBHE projects to present their projects and share their experiences peer-to-peer. Erasmus Mundus Association Country Representative for Malaysia, Ronald W. Binati, shared why he chose to study his Master’s degree in Europe under the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s (EMJM) program. The sincere engagement from the participants during the session signalled a broad interest towards the various Erasmus+ program opportunities available for Malaysian HEIs, their staff and students.

The info session was later followed by an Erasmus+ CBHE cluster meeting where some beneficiaries from the 2022–2023 cohort presented their CBHE projects in detail. Erasmus+ CBHE projects aim to make higher education more accessible for Malaysians and encourages innovative research programs in HEIs across the nation, regionally and together with European partners. Additionally, UTM will be launching their Erasmus+ Hub at their Kuala Lumpur campus and thereby improving the visibility of Erasmus+ activities in Malaysia. Dr Ariffin as the ENFP supports Malaysian HEIs in forming partnership and by disseminating relevant Erasmus+ information. His dedicated work ensures sustainable project partnerships and awareness of Erasmus+ opportunities.

Apart from the Information Session, Ms Garbaliauskaite monitored and advised ongoing CBHE projects and engaged with HEIs interested in learning more about Erasmus+ opportunities during her visit to Malaysia. The Erasmus+ program offers many opportunities with benefits to Malaysian HEIs. The program aims to foster international collaboration and enhance the quality of higher education through student and staff mobility, academic cooperation, and capacity-building projects. By facilitating exchanges and partnerships between Malaysian institutions and their European counterparts, Erasmus+ seeks to enrich academic experiences, promote intercultural understanding and strives to create a dynamic educational environment that prepares Malaysian students and educators to excel in an increasingly interconnected world.

About Erasmus+

Erasmus+ is the European Union’s flagship program to support education, training, youth and sports. This year, the Erasmus+ is celebrating its 37^th anniversary, having started with a mobility of 3,200 students across 11 European countries in 1987. Today, the Erasmus+ has provided opportunities for over 15 million participants worldwide, from students to learners and education professionals.

In the last ten years only, around 8.5 million people took benefit from the program. 2014 was also the year, when the Erasmus+ opportunities were opened for partner countries not associated to the program. Between 2014 and 2024, the Erasmus+ program contracted more than 230,000 projects with almost 170,000 organisations globally. This has led to a vast network of stakeholders and beneficiaries of the program.

The EU has allocated 26.2. billion EUR to the current programming period (2021–2027) of the Erasmus+. This highlights the commitment of the EU to education and learning mobility, helping to support key objectives of policy in higher education. Find more information on Erasmus+ here: https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/about-erasmus/what-is-erasmus