On the 27th of June, a Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) Meeting was organized by the National Erasmus+ Office in Armenia and the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia for new Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters scholarship winners from Armenia.

Thanks to the funding of the European Union, 7 individuals will receive master’s education in Portugal, Spain, Germany, Great Britain, Serbia, Greece, Italy, Malta and other countries within the following Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s programs:

• European Master on Embedded Intelligence Nanosystems Engineering (EMINENT)
• Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Education Policies for Global Development (GLOBED) 
• International Master on Wine Tourism Transitions and Innovations (WINTOUR)
• Erasmus Mundus Joint Master in Resilience in Educational Contexts (FLOURISH)
• Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Documentary Filmmaking (DOCNOMADS)
• Kino Eyes – The European Fiction Master
• Erasmus Mundus Master in Biomedical Engineering (EMMBIOME) 

The PDO meeting was attended by H.E. Vassilis Maragos (Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia), Frank Hess (Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia), David Avakian (Project Manager of the European Union Delegation in Armenia) and other representatives of the delegation, scholarship winners, alumni, representatives of the embassies of Romania, France, Italy and Greece in Armenia and the team of the National Erasmus+ Office in Armenia.

The meeting was launched by the welcome speech of the head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia Ambassador Vassilis Maragos. The ambassador congratulated the scholarship winners, urged them to make the most of the opportunity given to them, to create connections with the academic community and beyond, and most importantly, to return after their study and serve the knowledge and skills gained through the program for the development and empowerment of Armenia.

Afterwards, the coordinator of the National Erasmus+ Office in Armenia, Lana Karlova, presented the participants the Erasmus+ program, the opportunities it provides and the Erasmus Mundus alumni networks.

During the next session two Erasmus Mundus Alumni, Ani Hambardzumyan (Erasmus Mundus European Literary Cultures, Master, CLE) and Alyona Hovhannisyan (Joint Master’s Degree in Comparative Local Development, CODE) talked about the benefits of their Erasmus Mundus study programmes, shared their experience, tips on the practicalities of living in several EU countries and learning to communicate in the multicultural world.

Next, the scholarship winners had a chance to have a Q&A session on visa issues and cultural aspects with the representatives of the embassies of Romania, France and Greece in Armenia. They answered the scholarship winners’ questions, shared their contacts and promised to assist them in the visa process.

At the end of the meeting, the Head of the food chain risk assessment center of RA NAS “Eco Center”, Academic coordinator of Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility, EMJM alumnus Davit Pipoyan presented to the scholarship winners important aspects of intercultural communication during study abroad, as well as shared his experience and practical advice.

Again, the National Erasmus+ Office in Armenia congratulates the Armenian scholarship winners of Erasmus Mundus program and wishes them a smooth and effective educational process.

As a reminder, with Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees (EMJMDs), successful applicants receive a full degree scholarship for a Master-level international study programme and graduate their Master’s with joint or double/multiple degrees. Details on the program are available here.