During the first phase of the Progr

During the first phase of the Programme, each HEI consortium implementing an EMMC was awarded a
five-year framework partnership agreement that provided guaranteed financial support for five consecutive
editions of the course as well as scholarships for the participation of third-country students and scholars in
each EMMC edition. At the end of the first phase of the Programme, 103 EMMCs had been selected and
around 7 300 scholarships awarded to third-country students and scholars.
This Action, which has been the centrepiece of the first phase of the Programme, continues during its second
phase and is reinforced by the following elements:
o the award of scholarships to European students enrolled in selected EMMCs;
o the possibility for third-country HEIs to be full members of EMMC consortia; although the role and
level of involvement of these new partners may vary from one EMMC to another (in accordance with
the needs and readiness of the consortium and the third-country partner concerned), they can also act as
degree-awarding institutions and play an active role in the design, delivery and evaluation of the
EMMC
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;
o an increased focus on the EMMCs sustainability strategies with a view to ensuring the continuation of
their cooperation activities beyond the EC funding period; in this context, special attention will be paid
to this aspect in the assessment and selection of new EMMC proposals; moreover a progressive
reduction in the number of Erasmus Mundus scholarships offered to EMMCs will be applied as from the
fifth edition of the course.