University interest in ‘suboptimal’ Turing scheme wanes

Interest in the Turing scheme appears to be fading among UK universities, according to new figures, as academics again urge the Westminster government to rejoin Erasmus+ instead.

The Turing programme, which funds study placements for UK students in Europe and globally, replaced the European Union’s flagship study-abroad scheme after the UK left the bloc.

Recently released data from the Department for Education shows that 138 higher education institutions applied to take part in the Turing scheme for 2024-25 – 18 per cent of the total, which also includes further education colleges and schools. This was down from the 145 higher education providers – 23 per cent of the total – which applied in 2023-24.

With international office staff reporting “significant teething problems” with the administration of the scheme, Johanna Waters, professor of human geography at UCL, said the data suggests that a number of institutions were put off reapplying.

“The application forms are lengthy and repetitive and requiring much greater input of data than was needed for the Erasmus scheme. Erasmus guaranteed funding over several years, whereas Turing has been an annual application,” she said.

Previous evaluation reports found that the vast majority of higher education providers reported difficulties with the application process for the new scheme.

“The scheme is suboptimal in many ways and not an adequate replacement for Erasmus+,” said Sascha Stollhans, associate professor of language pedagogies at the University of Leeds.

Unlike Erasmus+, it does not cover tuition fees at host institutions and is not reciprocal in nature, meaning it does not facilitate inward mobility.

“Rejoining Erasmus would have huge advantages and re-enable the UK to benefit from the existing infrastructure and partnerships, and it may also be helpful in improving our relationship with the EU,” he added.

The latest data, which details organisations’ planned mobilities at exchange stage, shows that a total of 130 higher education institutions (20 per cent of the total) were successful this year, compared with 127 (27 per cent) last year.

Universities UK recently recommended that the government commit to the Turing scheme for the lifetime of this Parliament and consider whether to associate with the next Erasmus+.

The government has previously said it has “no plans” to re-enter the EU programme, but polls suggest that the most popular option among the public was to keep Turing and rejoin Erasmus+.

“Running those schemes in parallel offers a great competitive system that can give insights to both Turing and Erasmus as to what is working best from each, encouraging transferable knowledge,” according to Mike Galsworthy, director of Scientists for EU.

By sending young people to countries outside the EU, he said Turing can complement Erasmus+ – though it would still need some improvements, including a way for funding to apply to non-student exchanges, staff support and other holistic exchanges.

“There needs to be a way for applicants to apply for multiple-year funding arrangements so that initiatives can provide lasting benefit,” said Dr Galsworthy.

“However, rejoining Erasmus would solve this, with Turing repackaged as an extension scheme to reach non-EU and non-affiliated states.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The scheme plays a vital role in the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity, with over half of this year’s participants coming from disadvantaged backgrounds.”

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com