Scholarship funds to promote student exchanges to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are in place in 11 countries in Central and Southern Europe. Grants for study or work periods abroad are available to student, pupils, researchers, teachers and university staff. Funding is also available for cooperation projects between educational institutions in the beneficiary states and Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Rise in student exchanges
To date, 450 students from the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, and Portugal have received support to experience student life in new surroundings. The large majority of exchanges are made with Norway, and the influx of students from the Czech Republic and Hungary has doubled due the grant schemes. Student exchanges between Poland and the donor states have tripled.
The Czech scholarship fund was the first to become operational. Some 230 Czech students have already benefited from the grant scheme, attending close to 40 educational institutions in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The students and teachers who spent the year 2006/2007 in the donor countries contributed to a booklet about their experiences abroad.
Educational cooperation
The scholarship funds have proven to be important sources of funding for cooperation projects between educational institutions. 230 partnership projects between institutions in the EEA EFFTA states and the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have received support. Schools and universities are collaborating on a wide range of issues, from developing common curricula to sharing knowledge and experience within various fields of study.
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