International Scholarships and External EU Funding Support Taylor’s Students Going on Exchange
While an exchange semester is a cost-effective way of studying overseas, it still incurs some additional living costs and airfares. Taylor’s has been able to source funding through Erasmus+, the EU’s SHARE and Australia’s Endeavour Schemes to help students and their families with these costs.
(centre) Ms Jayvien Lau with Taylor’s University students who are heading overseas on exchange
Another group of Taylor’s University students are heading overseas on exchange. This year students are heading to new partners such as the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria and the Rennes School of Business (France). While an exchange semester is a very cost-effective way of studying overseas, it also means students and their families will incur some additional living costs and airfares. Needless to say, some students and their families find themselves financially challenged when it comes to meeting these additional costs.
The Taylor’s Global Mobility Office (GMO) is constantly looking to source mobility scholarships that can help students when it comes to affording the experience. A number of the students who will be spending a semester at Manchester Metropolitan University (UK), Zealand Institute of Business and Technology (Denmark), the University of Applied (UAS) Wiener Neustadt (Austria) and Masaryk University (Czech Republic) have been partially funded through the European Union’s (EU) Erasmus+ funding scheme. It is through the strong links that we have with our university partners in Europe that these students are able to receive Euro1,100 (approx RM5,500) for their airline ticket, and then another Euro850 (approx. RM4,200) a month for living expenses. Lim May Lin, who is studying accounting and finance at TU, is exchanging to the UAS-Wiener Neustadt in Austria. She said that “this Erasmus+ funding has been really important to me, as I did not want to burden my parents with the additional costs of living in Europe”.
Another recipient, Amelia Lai Pui Yan who is currently studying events management at TU, also said that she was “very grateful for this EU funding that has given her the golden opportunity of study for a semester abroad at ZIBAT in Denmark” adding that, “she was really looking forward to experiencing a new environment, education system, cultures and ideas”. Meanwhile, three Taylor’s students who are heading to the University of Newcastle (Australia) will also be receiving funding of A$5,000 from the Australian Endeavour Cheung Kong Awards Programme to support their cost of living while in Australia. One of the students who is studying international business and marketing, Sidney Ng Wai Yee, said that this funding had allowed her to “take this opportunity to travel and to experience a different culture, and to meet new people”. Furthermore, Corine Teo Sze Xuan, who is studying food science with nutrition has been funded under the European Union’s supported SHARE scheme. This funding is specifically ear-marked to promote greater student exchange between ASEAN countries, and also between ASEAN and EU countries. Corine will be spending a semester at the UAS-Upper Austria.
Ms Jayvien Lau, Head of Student Exchange, said that she was very impressed with the determination shown by the students, especially by those students who are our ‘pioneers’ and heading off to new partner institutions. “We are very fortunate that we have developed a strong global network of partners, and that many of them have help us by providing funding opportunities for our students so that they can spend a semester abroad” Lau said - (Global Matters 2018)
