Ten Lebanese students prepare for EU-funded studies in Europe

03 July 2008

BEIRUT: In the 2002 film L'Auberge Espagnol, a group of Erasmus Scholarship students in Spain find out the meaning of friendship, parties, romance, bureaucracy and hitting the books - in that order. According to Lebanese Erasmus alumna Reine Azzi, the movie is a pretty good depiction of life as an Erasmus scholar.

"[The movie] was made for us," she said with a smile, talking with Erasmus Mundus scholarship recipients in the patio of La Posta restaurant in Achrafieh on Monday.

This year, nine Lebanese graduate students and one scholar will embark on the Erasmus experience, through the program's international branch, Erasmus Mundus, which is funded by the European Union. Students will travel to European universities for Masters degrees on full scholarships - 42,000 euros (about $65,000) for two years. They join the ranks of nearly 40 other Lebanese who have already benefited from Erasmus Mundus. The program was first offered in 2004.

At Monday's meet-and-greet, organized by the European Commission, young Lebanese Erasmus beneficiaries listened to Patrick Laurent, the head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Lebanon, talk about what to expect from their European sojourns, and how to make the most of the experience.

Laurent congratulated the young scholars, and urged them to pursue the social side of the Erasmus experience as well as the schoolwork side.

"Networking is much more important than studying - I'm joking," he said. "But many foreign students are too serious." They regret not making more contacts with local students while abroad, he added.

"I would like to encourage you to get involved in all types of extracurricular activities ... and to soak up the rich and varied experiences of your stay in Europe," the ambassador said.

For most of the Lebanese students, who sipped diet cola or orange juice and quietly chatted, the social aspect of Erasmus seemed far from their minds.

Mirna Saliba, 21, is about to graduate from the Lebanese University's faculty of sciences, and is traveling to Germany and Spain to study nuclear fusion. She sees nuclear fusion as a possible solution to the world's energy woes, because it relies on hydrogen.

"On earth, hydrogen can be found in abundance," Saliba said, before expounding on the history of quarks, protons, atoms and elements.

Rana al-Khoury, a 21-year-old graduate of the American University of Beirut, is traveling first to Spain to study mechatronics, which she describes as the study of systems that "combine electronic and automatic systems - they are used in cars, airplanes and rockets."

But Khoury added that it wasn't just the academics that were pulling her to Europe.

She is going for "the culture," she said. "And you have the chance to meet worldwide, international companies."

Michael Miller, head of the politics, trade, economy, press and information section at the European delegation, sees the cultural exchange that the Erasmus Mundus program offers as indispensable.

"It's an incredible opportunity for Lebanese students," he said. "I hope they look back and say, 'Well, that was a turning point in my life.'"