25 years with the youth

“Erasmus is one of the great success stories of the European Union: it is our best known and most popular program”. Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for the Education and the Youth opened a conference on January 30th to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Erasmus program. Initiatives will be ongoing until May 9, with a follow-up conference in Copenhagen and many initiatives at national level. Upcoming news. “Erasmus exchanges enable students to improve their knowledge of foreign languages and to develop skills such as adaptability which improve their job prospects”, Vassiliou pointed out. Erasmus also provides opportunities for teachers and other staff to see how higher education works in other countries and to bring the best ideas home” along with formation tools and innovative approaches. During the conference, the Cypriot commissioner acknowledged that “demand for places strongly exceeds the resources available in many countries – one of the reasons why we plan to expand opportunities for study and training abroad under our proposed new education, training and youth programme, Erasmus for All”, expected to be introduced within the package of formative initiatives and programs funded by the EU in 2014.The destinations. In the 2011/2012 academic year, more than 250 000 students will benefit from the Erasmus programme. The most popular destinations for students – makes known the Commission – are expected to be Spain, France, United Kingdom, Germany and Italy”. Although the EU has allocated around € 3 billion for Erasmus for the period 2007-13 the funding turned out to be insufficient compared to the requests, thus confirming the validity of the educational proposals. New budget solutions are being considered to this regard. Also the president of the Executive, José Manuel Barroso underlined the importance of the formative offer, for the cultural exchanges among youth from different Countries. “The impact of Erasmus has been tremendous”, not only for individual students, but for the European economy as a whole”. Through its support for “high-quality teaching and a modern higher education system, with closer links between academia and employers, it is helping us to tackle the skills mismatch”. For Barroso the program gives young people possibility to work in other countries, without being “trapped by a geographic mismatch”.From leaning to work. Erasmus mobility is at the heart of the Commission’s strategy – as highlighted during the meeting in Brussels – to combat youth unemployment by focusing more on skills development”. As relates to Erasmus for All, it would “bring together all the current EU and international schemes for education, training, youth and sport, replacing seven existing programmes with one (Lifelong Learning Programme: Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci, Comenius, Grundtvig; Youth in Action, Erasmus Mundus, Tempus, Alfa, Edulink and the “bilateral cooperation programme with industrialised countries”). “The aim is for up to 5 million people, almost twice as many as now, to get the chance to study, train or teach abroad”. The Commission’s proposal is currently being discussed by the Member States and the European Parliament. In 25 years three million students from 33 countries.All students who completed at least the first year of college studies can file a request for an Erasmus study period abroad, which can last from 3 to 12 months. It forms an integrating part of the program of the university or assimilated higher institution departure. Full academic recognition is granted at the end of the training period abroad – provided it is completed successfully. The vast majority of European universities take part in ERASMUS. More than 2.2 million students have participated since it started in 1987, as well as 250 000 higher education teachers and other staff since 1997 (33 countries take part in the program, 27EU countries, Croatia, Island, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and Turkey) and all the training courses, whether scientific or humanistic. The ERASMUS monthly grant (which doesn’t cover all expenses abroad as it is meant to help students and families meet the costs of living away from home) amounts to approximately 250-300 euro. The amount is decided at national level and thus differs from one country to the next.