France offering over 1600 courses & scholarships to attract 30,000 Indian students by 2030

On October 11, Kolkata played host to an education fair organised by the Government of France. The event saw a healthy footfall from prospective students across the city. This Education fair was a part of the French government’s bid to attract more Indian students wanting to pursue higher education in foreign universities, particularly in France. The ‘Choose France Tour 2023’, as it is being called, has undertaken countrywide education fairs where the French government is presenting Indian students with various prospects to pursue advanced studies in France as well as information about several available scholarships.

The fair was organised in collaboration with Campus France, the arm of the French Government that provides support and counselling to international students in the country. Students visiting the fair were provided free counselling sessions and information regarding scholarships, visa opportunities and student life in France.

Over 1,600 courses have been offered, which will be delivered entirely in English. These include programmes in management, engineering, hospitality, humanities, arts, architecture and design, among others. The organisers also claimed that non-francophone students, willing to take up standard French bachelor programmes, would be provided one year of training in French, following which they would be admitted to such courses.

“We want to welcome more Indian Students. Currently, we have less than 10,000 Indian students studying in France. Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, has set the goal of getting 30,000 Indian Students at French institutes by 2030. Hence we are organising such education fairs every year,” said Didier Talpain, French Consul General in Kolkata. The French government has since devised several measures to attract young Indian students to France for their higher education. These include a nearly 50 per cent subsidy in Tuition fees at public universities and several scholarship programmes.

“The French government has a very active policy to welcome students. Lot of grants are being provided to students taking admission in public universities. There are also several grants given by the institutions themselves,” Mr Talpain added.

Apart from this, students pursuing their higher education in France will be provided with the recently introduced 5-year validity short-stay visa on completion of their course. This will allow students to visit France any time during the period, though this does not give them the right to work. On the other hand, students willing to take up jobs in France will be provided a two-year post-study visa during which they can stay in France after completing their course and look for employment.

The fair, organised by L’Institut Francais en Inde (French Institute in India), the educational, cultural and scientific wing of the Embassy of France in India, provided students with first-hand information from representatives of over 50 French Higher Education institutes. The series of education fairs, which started on October 8, will continue till October 15. The first chapter, in Chennai, saw a total of 900 participants, with Kolkata following close behind. The fair is now set to move on to New Delhi and Mumbai.