Erasmus set to expand under EU deal

Under plans agreed by the European Parliament on 26 June, the international student mobility scheme will now be known as “Erasmus+”, it has been announced.

Its proposed budget is €16 billion (£13.7 billion) over the next seven years.

The new programme will bring together all the current EU programmes for education, training and youth, such as the Youth in Action volunteer scheme and the Leonardo da Vinci programme for vocational education, under the banner of Erasmus+.

More than 90,000 UK students have taken part in the Erasmus mobility programme since 2007, which allows those at university to work or study abroad.

Meanwhile, 6,000 school partnerships have been formed under the Comenius and eTwinning schemes, aiding more than 100,000 teachers and around two million pupils in the UK.

In the voluntary sector, Youth in Action has enabled 50,000 young people to take part in community-level projects with their counterparts in other countries, while 5,000 youth workers have made use of opportunities for professional development.

Students and staff have received grants worth €447 million from the schemes over the past seven years.

Ruth Sinclair-Jones, head of EU programmes and national agency director at the British Council, which runs Erasmus in the UK, said she expected participation rates to soar over the next few years.

“The new programme aims to reach almost double the numbers who currently receive support for education and training opportunities abroad, between 2014 and 2020,” she said.

“This represents a fantastic opportunity for UK participants, especially for our young people, to benefit from a funded international experience and help improve their employability.”

jack.grove@tsleducation.com