The Ambassador of the European Union for the Pacific says he would like to see more women apply for post graduate study in Europe.
Alistair MacDonald says this year's group of fourteen recipients of the EU sponsored Erasmus Mundus scholarships is the largest number awarded so far in the region.
He says the EU funds the travel, course fees and modest living expenses for up to two years, for students who have been accepted to study at Master's or PhD level at European universities.
He says the Erasmus Mundus scholarships promote an appreciation of European and Pacific cultures and it would be good to see more women applying for the grants next year.
"It is still a relatively modest number. I've been in other countries where we have almost a 50/50 participation and in some cases we have to be active in encouraging more men to look for these scholarships. But here in the Pacific, I think out of the fourteen, we had four or five women, which is good but I would like to see more."
Alistair MacDonald says the fourteen are preparing to leave in the next two weeks and many of the students are researching aspects of climate change which will benefit their communities throughout their working lives.
