If there’s one continent that has consistently topped many wanderlusts’ bucket list, it is Europe. Centuries of history and culture have left many intangible and UNESCO World Heritage sites in its fold. It is the birthplace of many philosophical thoughts and cultural movements. The many fathers of the sciences were born there. Top universities are also found in many countries in the continent. It is easy to see why many Filipinos choose to pursue their higher education there.

Melting pot

Being called the melting pot never gets old for Europe. Many students profess that they want to pursue their studies in many of its decorated universities because of the experience of getting to acquaint themselves with many converging cultures and peoples from distinct nations.

For Lyka Caparas, love for wines got her all the way to Europe, home of many fine wine estates and regions, notably in France and Italy. She worked in the food service marketing sector and one day found herself being an Erasmus Mundus scholar.

She acknowledged that there are limitations here in the Philippines, as winemaking is not an industry here.

“But we have the sense of taste, sense of smell. In fact, most of our tastes lean towards tropical fruits which Western countries do not have. These fruits and this familiarity are our advantage in terms of perception of taste,” she reasoned. She holds a Master on Wine and Tourism Innovation as part of her Erasmus Mundus scholarship from a university in Spain.

Similarly pursuing the fine art of culinary and good food, Rebecca Disini found herself flying to France and enrolling at the world-famous Le Cordon Bleu Paris.

“Initially when I thought of studying or pursuing culinary pastry, I immediately envisioned going to France only because I believe that if you want to be able to create authentic dishes, you must try it as authentic as it can get,” Disini said.

She added that it was important for her to study in France because she wanted to “learn from their best practices and bring it back home in the Philippines.”

Aside from good food and great spirits, Europe is also a fashion mecca. Three of the world’s most famous fashion weeks — Milan, London and Paris — are held there. And Amina Aranaz Alunan, designer and proprietor of fashion label Aranaz, knew she just had to fly to Italy to study fashion 15 years ago.

Born to a family that deals in artisanal crafts, Aranaz figured out that she cannot just be well-acquainted with the aesthetics of her products. To elevate her “informal exposure,” she decided to pursue fashion at the Istituto Marangoni Milano where she graduated magna cum laude in the Master Course in Accessories Design in 2004.

“For creatives, sometimes, you just can’t think that you can wing it. You have to put yourself in that learning mind frame. Being exposed to an Italian education was really about learning a different culture. The Italians are known for their craftsmanship. They are very proud of how they create. They have a very strong handmade culture in Italy. That is also very similar to what we have in Philippines.

She continued, “What I got from that education is understanding on the professional level how the fashion world works. The Philippines, at that time and even today, we’re not yet in that global level of fashion industry in terms of scope, reach and understanding. That’s what I really gained from my exposure in Italy. It was seeing firsthand how an international fashion capital operates.

There, the designers manage to transform ateliers into global brands. It was really the dream and inspiration to transform something that is more artisan into a global brand.”

Aside from learning the nuances and finer things in life at the birthplace of refinement and culture, those who have studied in Europe also attested that it helped them be independent and practical. After all, if not for scholarships, Europe can be expensive.

Gabriel Holigores, who took his MBA at INSEAD in France, said that studying there helped him to have a practical mindset and living within one’s means. He is thankful that he got a third of his studies covered via scholarship, which he revealed is one wise tip for those who want to study in Europe. Many of these schools feature various types of scholarships, one just has to be patient at going over every offer on hold.

First-ever virtual EHEF

Thankfully for many Filipinos, the annual European Higher Education Fair (EHEF) is pushing through a two-day virtual fair on 2 and 3 October.

There are 93 participating higher education institutions from the European Union (EU). Schools from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden are participating. Educational institutions from the Slovak Republic are participating for the first time.

“Through this fair, the EU likes to underscore the importance of mobility, innovation, people-to-people links and lifelong learning. The fair will therefore be a one-stop-shop to know more about the EU and why the EU has such a reputation as a center of excellence in learning worldwide,” Thomas Wiersing, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the EU Delegation to the Philippines, said.

The affair will feature 29 webinars, live chat windows and virtual meeting rooms.

As EHEF 2020 goes virtual, it also goes regional for the first time. Regional partner institutions Ateneo de Manila University, Wesleyan University, Silliman University and Xavier University–Ateneo de Cagayan will host clustered presentations for their students and other interested parties in their respective regions. A virtual networking event will also take place on 2 October at 7:30 p.m.

EHEF 2020 is organized by the Delegation of the European Union to the Philippines, together with EU Member States’ Embassies, in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education.

Interested parties can pre–register now via www.ehefphilippines.com.