Choose France Tour 2021

The educational, scientific and cultural department of the Embassy of France in India, Institut Français en Inde, in collaboration with Campus France Paris, is organizing its second virtual Choose France Tour on 26th - 27th February 2021.

The Choose France Tour platform will enable students, parents and professionals to directly interact with universities and institutions in France to explore study opportunities at the graduate, post-graduate and doctoral levels. Visitors can also meet alumni, learn about scholarships, participate in webinars as well as some fun activities.

Despite the coronavirus, France continues to welcome international students and researchers. Since the beginning of February 2021, students have been allowed to return to their academic institutions to attend classes (at least) one day a week. This applies to all students who wish to do so, regardless of their level of study.

Higher education institutions are currently taking the appropriate steps to receive their students in compliance with the health measures in force.  In France, higher education institutions and associations assist international students facing any psychological challenges. Since early February, subsequent to the French government’s latest measures to help students in vulnerable situations, students can have meals for 1 euro in university restaurants, and continue to benefit from administrative and social services.

There are over 3,500 public and private institutes of higher education in France: 72 universities, 25 multi-institute campuses, 271 doctoral schools, 227 engineering colleges, 220 business and management schools, 45 post-secondary public schools of art, 22 schools of architecture and other institutions. They offer a wide choice of programmes, including 1650 in English.

Participating Institutions

Know more about these institutions at: https://ifindia.in/choose-france-tour/#institutions

Programme

Also, Quiz sessions on French Language and Culture with prizes worth Rs. 50,000 by courtesy of l’Opéra, Décathlon and Alliance Française! Alliance Française in India will offer a free French class online with content adapted to the level of the contest winner, using a communicative, interactive and intercultural method. Learning French is an asset, if you plan to study in France or work in an international company.

FRANCE ALUMNI SPEAK:

“Ten years ago, I was in a similar situation on account of the global financial crisis…Economies were not doing great and the impact was felt across all geographies. I was doing my Master’s in Paris then and by the time I finished my degree the economy was on its road to recovery and I found myself with a job in Paris. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the current period is a good time for those wanting to pursue their studies in Bachelor’s or Master’s. Things will be much better by the time your finish your studies. Hence, use the present moment to focus on education” - Sudeep Gupta, Alumni ESCP-EAP European School of Management

THE USPs of France:

Education, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Art de vivre!

The quality of higher education in France is the result of long-term and continuous political vision with education being the State’s biggest budgetary expense, thereby enabling students to access one of the best systems of higher education with cost efficiency.

• Numerous French universities and Grandes Ecoles are placed high in the most reputable international rankings, such as the Times Higher Education ranking, the Financial Times ranking, the QS, the Shanghai ranking and the European Union’s U-Multirank. Studying in France means benefiting from this recognition.

• Achievements of French researchers include thirteen Fields Medals and 71 Nobel Prizes. France also occupies the sixth rung worldwide for most international patents filed.

• France ranks 13th on the 2021 Bloomberg Innovation Index, which ranks the world’s 60 most innovative economies’ overall innovation capacity. France has become one of the hottest tech hubs in Europe in recent years thanks to the government’s major push to make the country more startup-friendly.

• France is the European country with the best representation in the list of the top 100 most innovative companies. It is home to 71 competitiveness clusters that comprise an attractive ecosystem, bringing together laboratories, universities, start-ups and major corporations. French Tech supports development of digital companies, and attracts young talent.

• Did you know French start-up Qonto is a bank that opens an account in less than five minutes and charges only 9 euros per month? And that Paris is home to more than 3,000 start-ups? And Station F in Paris gathers 1000 startups making it the largest start-up campus in the world?

• Entrepreneur is a French word. With more than 10 000 start-ups nationwide, France is the 2nd largest European start-up ecosystem and aims to top the charts with 25 unicorns by 2025.

• France is among the simplest countries in which to establish a company, requiring only 5 administrative procedures and 4 days.

• France is the #2 European VC ecosystem and has dynamic equity crowdfunding platforms for investments up to 2.5 million euros.

• Discover France is a great place to conduct R&D, with a startup-friendly ecosystem in a central location in Europe. France trains and attracts the largest number of engineers in Europe with Germany: 1 million engineers and 70 000 PhDs (41% non-French).

• In Artificial Intelligence research, France has 268 research teams, 5,300 researchers, 81 engineering schools and 38 universities offering 138 AI-related courses, 18 master’s degrees specializing in AI, 80 TSEs and SMEs and more than 270 start-ups specialising in AI, with a sustained rate of creation.

• France has the world’s fifth largest economy, and 31 of the world’s 500 most powerful companies. The industrial dynamism of major French companies is driven by innovation and research.

• And finally, art de vivre à la française or French art of living makes it even more worthwhile to have this complete experience while living and studying in France.

• With the highest number of Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, and a plethora of museums, galleries, and UNESCO World Heritage sites, France also has the highest number of international tourist arrivals in the world.

• The French perfume industry is the undisputed world leader in its sector.

• French haute couture deeply entrenched in tradition and heritage has made France the fashion capital of the world. French luxury brand Louis Vuitton is amongst the top 20 most valuable brands in the world, ahead of Oracle, GE and SAP!

• French cinema ranks second in the international film market, just after the United States, and French book publishing accounts for 680 million euros

• France has also had considerable international success in music, animation and television series production.

• France ranks 4th in the world in the contemporary art market. Seven of the ten most visited museums in the world are European (three in Paris, two in London) and 30 of the 69 UNESCO “Creative Cities” are European.

• In France, the creative and cultural industries account for 640 000 jobs and generate 91 billion euros worth of revenue!