Europe needs a bigger, more inclusive Erasmus programme
Every year, tens of thousands of European citizens decide to avail of the Erasmus programme: students, lecturers, researchers, artists, athletes, volunteers and other citizens book their flights, pack their bags and leave for other countries, with grants supporting European mobility.
Photo: daarwasik/Flickr
Europe needs a bigger, more inclusive Erasmus programme
Every year, tens of thousands of European citizens decide to avail of the Erasmus programme: students, lecturers, researchers, artists, athletes, volunteers and other citizens book their flights, pack their bags and leave for other countries, with grants supporting European mobility.
Photo: daarwasik/Flickr
Erasmus (recently renamed Erasmus+ ) is recognised as a flagship programme of the European Union, and one of the most effective tools for the development of the European population. In its 32 years of existence, the programme has enabled more than 9 million citizens to study and work abroad for a period lasting from several months to as long as three years with Erasmus Mundus .
According to the European Commission’s impact assessments , those who avail of the Erasmus programme learn a new language, expand their professional horizons, enlarge their own personal network and feel more European. For example, the risk of Erasmus alumni being unemployed five years after graduation is 23 percent lower than average , and one Erasmus intern in three receives an offer of work from the company which provided their internship. In other words, the European Union’s mobility programme has a powerful effect on the professional lives and cultural identities of those who avail of it.