Erasmus+, the new European Union programme for education, training, youth and sport, is great news for millions of people. Aimed at boosting skills, employability and supporting the modernisation of education and training, the programme has a budget of nearly €15bn - 40 per cent higher than previous levels - over the next seven years. Across Europe, more than four million people will receive support to study, train, work or volunteer abroad, in a new culture, in a new language, with new friends.
Erasmus+ grants will be offered to two million higher education students, 650,000 vocational students and apprentices, 800,000 school teachers, lecturers, trainers, education staff and youth workers, as well as more than half a million young people volunteering abroad or going on youth exchanges. Erasmus+ builds on the success of the EU's Erasmus student exchange programme and similar mobility initiatives. The individual benefits gained from opportunities to study or train abroad are well-known. The Erasmus experience enables young people to develop skills that will serve them for the rest of their life. It helps to increase their language proficiency, adaptability, self-confidence and employability. They learn to stand on their own two feet and to live and work with people from another culture. In short, they open their minds.
"The Erasmus experience enables young people to develop skills that will serve them for the rest of their life"
Erasmus+ has three main targets: first, around 65 per cent of the budget is allocated to learning opportunities abroad for individuals; second, the programme supports partnerships between educational institutions, youth organisations, businesses, training institutions, local and regional authorities, and NGOs; and, finally, it supports reforms to modernise education and training and to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and employability. The programme supports all levels of education, from funding cross-border projects to tackling early school leaving and addressing the unique requirements of adult learners. We know that we need to open up education to new technologies; Erasmus+ will support better use of ICT for learners and teachers. Our vocational training systems are too often failing our young people; Erasmus+ will help to modernise them. Our universities do not work closely enough with businesses; Erasmus+ will create new alliances to help bridge the gap between education and the world of work.
In addition to grant support for studies and training abroad, students planning a full Master's degree abroad, for which national grants or loans are seldom available, can benefit from the new Erasmus+ loan guarantee scheme run by the European investment fund. The new Erasmus+ partnerships, called 'knowledge alliances' and 'sector skills alliances', will help bridge the gap between education and the world of work by enabling higher education institutions, training providers and enterprises to work together and more effectively promote innovation and entrepreneurship. This means, for example, developing new curricula to tackle skills gaps. The programme also has a strong international dimension with a separate budget of around €1.7bn between now and 2020. This will provide grants to enable at least 135,000 students from around the world to come and spend up to 12 months studying in the European Union, as well as opportunities for European students to study in all four corners of the world.
"At a time when parts of our union are turning in on themselves and xenophobic attitudes are unfortunately more prevalent, Erasmus+ is about bringing Europeans together and continues to symbolise some of the EU's greatest aspirations and democratic values"
Furthermore, Erasmus+ will continue the Erasmus mundus scheme that supports excellent Master's degree courses in Europe. These courses act as a beacon for the quality of European higher education around the world. Around 30,000 scholarships for full degree courses will be awarded on a competitive basis to the best European and non-European students. The international budget will also fund around 1000 capacity building projects to help developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as our neighbours in eastern Europe and north Africa, to modernise their higher education systems and universities.
Erasmus+ is not just about offering support for students or trainees. By providing more funding for the European voluntary service and international youth exchanges, the programme also promotes active citizenship and the participation of young people in democratic life. Europe is facing tremendous economic and social challenges. At a time when parts of our union are turning in on themselves and xenophobic attitudes are unfortunately more prevalent, Erasmus+ is about bringing Europeans together and continues to symbolise some of the EU's greatest aspirations and democratic values.