ASSUR is an Erasmus Mundus Action 2 scholarship program for students on undergraduate, master, doctoral and post-doctoral level, as well as for university staff in academic or administrative positions, financed by the European Commission. ASSUR overall objectives are the improvement of mutual understanding and the enhancement of cultural, educational, and economic relations between EU and Syria. The restrictive measures adopted by the EU due to the recent crisis, make Erasmus Mundus crucial for supporting bilateral cooperation in education and research, thus providing important scientific and technological links. The specific objectives are:
- to establish strong relations with EU institutions for the future Syrian university teachers/researchers,
- to reinforce the cultural links with Mediterranean countries,
- to improve the internationalization of Syrian MA programs,
- to enlarge the enterprise-university links,
- to facilitate the mobility of disadvantaged groups,
- to help to balance the actual brain drain,
- to promote life-long learning and modify the management of HEI with a view to adapting HE learning to labor market changes.