France unveils new scheme to attract Indian students

Indian students pursuing degrees in France will be able to study French for a year before beginning their subjects of choice, as part of the newly announced “Classes Internationales” programme.

French president Emmanuel Macron and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi announced the initiative during the former’s recent state visit to India, during which Mr Macron restated plans to attract 30,000 Indian students to France by 2030.

“It’s a very ambitious target, but I am determined to make it happen,” Macron posted on X, formerly Twitter.

The Classes Internationales scheme, which will launch in September, will enable “Indian students to be taught French as a foreign language, methodology and academic contents in highly reputed French universities in France during one academic year, before entering their chosen curricula in France”, a joint statement from both countries read.

Applicants, who must demonstrate “academic excellence”, will be able to apply to “world-renowned French higher education institutions across all fields,” according to the French embassy in India: “universities, grandes écoles, engineering, management, sciences, humanities, arts, and other specialised schools.”

The programme will involve “immersion in French culture”, while language classes will be tailored to students’ intended fields of study. “Outstanding students will be awarded scholarships by the Embassy of France in India to support their higher education in France,” the embassy said.

Mr Modi and Mr Macron further pledged to boost funding for the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR/CEFIPRA), according to their joint statement, while encouraging “the exchange of research scholars between institutions on both sides” through increased scholarships.

During Mr Modi’s state visit to France in July 2023, both countries announced plans to “strengthen their academic ties and to foster exchanges of students”. In a statement, they committed to promoting “the development of joint training programmes” as well as researchers’ mobility between the two countries, with science and technology named as “priority areas”.

France also announced that Indian students who had completed one term at master’s level at a French university would be eligible for a short-stay Schengen visa, valid for five years, an initiative aimed at “creat[ing] a community of Indian alumni”.

In 2023, France reaffirmed plans to attract 20,000 Indian students by 2025, followed by 30,000 by 2030. According to the latest Campus France figures, there were just over 6,300 Indian students in France in the 2021-22 academic year.

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com