“Until recently students who wanted to orient themselves internationally towards their Master programs had to wade through a labyrinth of sources of information”, says Edwin van Rest, TU/e alumnus Industrial Engineering and Management Science and one of the initiators of the site. “I was already working on a site about Masters for the international student faculty association ESTIEM. We saw the developments of the Bologna process in which European governments set themselves the aim of increasing the international mobility of students. The underlying idea is that an European professional population with a multicultural education can strengthen the worldwide competitive position. In my view this made it necessary to come up with an information channel that encompasses all disciplines while simultaneously looking beyond national levels.”

The opportunities abroad are grand. You can follow a Master in Hydropower at the School for Renewable Energy Science in Akureyri in Iceland. In Lithuania they offer the Master’s program of Clothing and Polymer Products Engineering and in Italy you can specialize in Car Design. These examples are merely mouse clicks away at the MastersPortal. “Students no longer need to plod through all the websites of universities that they happen to know, or through numerous national sites”, Van Rest explains as the greatest advantage. “Besides, many students have no idea about their opportunities abroad, so that they may miss out on a fantastic experience. MastersPortal has the goal of enhancing this awareness”.

Students do not have to pay any registration fee. With support from the European Union and advertising money from the universities the site can pay for itself. More and more students are willing and able to follow an international Master’s program. The European Commission, national governments, and universities are making grants available more often. /.