No doubt. Today's decisions will shape tomorrow's future and those who study abroad will return with better opportunities to find a job after graduating. The importance for young people, and the progress of society as a whole, of choosing to study abroad becomes even more relevant at a time when the labor market is in the midst of change, facing new challenges: each perhaps understands less about borders.
The connection with companies and institutions abroad is essential to close a learning process aligned with this reality. Employers demand professionals with a great capacity for adaptation and willingness to work in multidisciplinary and diverse teams. And scholarships are necessary and fundamental to help universities guarantee access to that training, skills and competencies to those who most deserve it and need it most. Internationalization is a key element in the future of the Spanish university system and Banco Santander wants to contribute to it and, most importantly, make it available to everyone.
For 27 years, the entity has maintained a firm commitment to education, employability and entrepreneurship, which distinguishes it from the rest of the financial entities in the world. In all this time, the bank has allocated more than 2.2 billion euros and has supported more than one million people and companies through agreements with more than 1,300 universities. A work that Fortune magazine has recognized by including the entity on the 'Change the World' list, which houses the 50 companies that each year help solve some of society's most important challenges.
And, among all these initiatives is its Santander Scholarships for Erasmus program, which, since its launch in 2018, has allocated 10.5 million euros and when the 2024-2025 academic year ends it will have benefited more than 21,500 university students. after its extension last year to Germany, Portugal and Poland.
The objective of the entity is none other than to recognize the academic excellence of Erasmus scholarship recipients and promote educational inclusion and equal opportunities for those students who have less favorable economic conditions. “There is nothing more unfair and exclusive than the barriers to access to education,” said Ángel Rivera, CEO of Santander Spain, who also highlighted that this collaboration represents the commitment shared by the Ministry of Universities, Crue Spanish Universities and Banco Santander to improve our level of development as a society and contribute together to a more prosperous future.
Erasmus students, in the words of the CEO, “also build Europe, create European identity and return with better opportunities to find a job after graduating.” Today, Erasmus is the program that has contributed the most to European construction in its more than 35 years of existence.
In its commitment to supporting the most complete training of young people, the entity has launched a new edition, which is the sixth in Spain and the second in Germany, Poland and Portugal, of its Santander Scholarships program for Erasmus students with the which will grant more than 3,000 scholarships of up to 1,000 euros for university students from these four countries. In Spain alone, the total number of scholarships awarded will be 1,875, especially intended for students who need it most.
Young people who want to apply for one of these scholarships can register through the Santander Scholarships website until March 27, 2024. Among the requirements, candidates must have been granted aid from the Erasmus study mobility program in Europe and/or internship. Academic institutions may prioritize the award of aid to students who have received a general scholarship from the Ministry in the previous year and to those who have a disability equal to or greater than 33%.
The Erasmus program of the European Union, managed in the fields of education and training by the Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE), attached to the Ministry of Universities, has been running for 35 years and more than 900,000 university students have benefited. of our country.
In Spain, more than 81,500 university students applied for Erasmus Scholarships, both for studies and internships, of which 53,042 were final beneficiaries. For the period 2021-2027, the program places special emphasis on social inclusion, ecological and digital transitions, and promoting the participation of young people in democratic life.
