Erasmus Programme

The programme is named after the Dutch philosopher, theologian, Renaissance Humanist, monk, and devout Roman Catholic, Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, called "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists".[1] Erasmus, along with his good friend Thomas More, became one of the main figures of European intellectual life during the Renaissance. Known for his satire, Erasmus urged internal reform of the Catholic Church. He encouraged a recovery of the Catholic Patristic tradition against what he considered to be contemporary abuses of the Sacraments and certain excessive devotional practices. He famously clashed with Protestant revolutionary Martin Luther on the subject of free will. ERASMUS is a backronym meaning European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students.[1] Erasmus travelled widely across Europe and he was a pioneer of the European Republic of Letters. He was one of the first intellectuals to use as a vehicle of diffusion of his ideas a path-breaking technology, namely the movable type and spent a lot of his time inside printing workshops. [5]

The idea of promoting cultural, social, and academic exchanges between European students originated in 1969, with Italian Sofia Corradi (nicknamed "Mamma Erasmus"), an educator and scientific consultant for the permanent conference of Italian university rectors. Her role allowed her to raise awareness about this idea and make it known in the academic and institutional spheres.[6] The project was born after an initiative of the EGEE student association (now AEGEE) founded by Franck Biancheri (who later became president of the trans-European movement Newropeans) which in 1986–1987 convinced French president François Mitterrand to support the creation of the Erasmus programme.

This active collaboration between AEGEE and the European Commission and especially Domenico Lenarduzzi, Ministry of Public Education, allowed the approval of the Erasmus programme in 1987. It became an integral part of the Socrates I (1994–1999) and Socrates II (2000–2006) programmes. From 2007 it became one of the elements of the Lifelong Learning Programme (2007–2013).

In June 1984, the European Council decided in Fontainebleau to establish an ad-hoc European citizens comity with the mission to make proposals in order to improve the image of the European Union. Each council member would select a member and together they should present a set of proposals to be approved at a future European Council. Under the chairmanship of Pietro Adonnino the comity presented two successive reports[7] that were approved at the Council session in Milano on the 28–29 of June 1985.[8] Under the proposals that were advanced in these reports was the suggestion (to be found in the second report from number 5.6: University Cooperation) that the ministers for education and universities and higher-education establishments

1. should establish a cross-frontier cooperation enabling students to pursue part of their studies in an establishment in a member state other than their own;
2. should implement, a comprehensive European inter-university programme of exchanges and studies aimed at giving this opportunity to a significant section of the EU's student population.

These suggestions were advanced by the Belgian member Prosper Thuysbaert and were discussed and approved by the comity.

By the time the Erasmus Programme was adopted in June 1987, the European Commission had been supporting pilot student exchanges for six years. It proposed the original Erasmus Programme in early 1986, but reaction from the then member states varied: those with substantial exchange programmes of their own (essentially France, Germany and the United Kingdom) were broadly hostile; the remaining countries were broadly in favour. Exchanges between the member states and the European Commission deteriorated, and the latter withdrew the proposal in early 1987 to protest against the inadequacy of the triennial budget proposed by some member states.[1]

This method of voting was not accepted by some of the opposing member states, who challenged the adoption of the decision before the European Court of Justice. Although the court held that the adoption was procedurally flawed, it maintained the substance of the decision; a further decision, adapted in the light of the jurisprudence, was rapidly adopted by the Council of Ministers.

The programme built on the 1981–1986 pilot student exchanges, and although it was formally adopted only shortly before the beginning of the academic year 1987–1988, it was still possible for 3,244 students to participate in Erasmus in its first year. In 2006, over 150,000 students, or almost 1% of the European student population, took part. The proportion is higher among university teachers, where Erasmus teacher mobility is 1.9% of the teacher population in Europe, or 20,877 people.

From 1987–2006, over two million students[9] benefited from Erasmus grants, and the European Commission aimed to reach a total of 3 million by 2012. In 2004 Erasmus Programme was awarded the Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation.

After 2007, the Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 replaced the Socrates programme as the overall umbrella under which the Erasmus (and other) programmes operated.

The Erasmus Mundus programme is a parallel programme oriented towards globalising European education and is open to non-Europeans with Europeans being exceptional cases.

In May 2012,[10] Fraternité 2020 was registered as Europe's first European Citizens' Initiative and a goal to increase the budget for EU exchange programmes like Erasmus or the European Voluntary Service starting in 2014. It ultimately collected only 71,057 signatures from citizens across the EU out of 1 million signatures needed by 1 November 2013.[11]

Erasmus+ also called Erasmus Plus, has been the new 14.7 billion euro catch-all framework programme for education, training, youth and sport from 2014–2020.[12] The Erasmus+ programme combined all the EU's schemes for education, training, youth and sport, including the Lifelong Learning Programme (Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci, Comenius, Grundtvig), Youth in Action and five international co-operation programmes (Erasmus Mundus, Tempus, Alfa, Edulink and the programme for co-operation with industrialised countries). The Erasmus+ regulation[13] was signed on 11 December 2013.[14]

Erasmus+ provided grants for a wide range of actions including the opportunity for students to undertake work placements abroad and for teachers and education staff to attend training courses. projects are divided into two parts – formal and non-formal education – each of them with three key actions. Erasmus+ key action one provides a unique opportunity for teachers, headmasters, trainers and other staff of education institutions to participate in international training courses in different European countries.[15]

The staff home institution must apply to receive the grant to send its staff members abroad for training.[16]

Erasmus+ conducted projects in Central Asia's Kazakhstan, funding 40 projects involving 47 Kazach universities with more than 35.5 million euro.[17]

On 30 May 2018, the European Commission adopted its proposal for the next Erasmus programme, with a doubling of the budget to 30 billion euros for the period 2021–2027.[18] Further negotiations were expected to take place during the 2019–2024 European parliamentary term with the European Parliament and the European Council before the final programme is adopted.[19]

With Brexit, the UK government decision not to participate in Erasmus meant UK students lost access to the Erasmus programme and EU students lost access to UK universities.[20]

The Erasmus Programme had previously been restricted to applicants who had completed at least one year of tertiary-level study, but it is now also available to secondary school students.

Students who join the Erasmus Programme study at least three months or do an internship for a period of at least 2 months to an academic year in another European country. The former case is called a Student Mobility for Studies or SMS, while the latter case is called a Student Mobility of Placement or SMP.[27][28] The Erasmus Programme guarantees that the period spent abroad is recognised by their university when they come back, as long as they abide by terms previously agreed. Switzerland has been suspended as a participant in the Erasmus programme as of 2015, following the popular vote to limit the immigration of EU citizens into Switzerland. As a consequence, Swiss students will not be able to apply for the programme and European students will not be able to spend time at a Swiss university under that programme.[29]

A main part of the programme is that students do not pay extra tuition fees to the university that they visit. Students can also apply for an Erasmus grant to help cover the additional expense of living abroad. Students with disabilities can apply for an additional grant to cover extraordinary expenses.

In order to reduce expenses and increase mobility, many students also use the European Commission-supported accommodation network, CasaSwap, FlatClub, Erasmusinn, Eurasmus,[30] Erasmate or Student Mundial, which are free websites where students and young people can rent, sublet, offer and swap accommodation – on a national and international basis. A derived benefit is that students can share knowledge and exchange tips and hints with each other before and after going abroad.

For many European students, the Erasmus Programme is their first time living and studying in another country. Hence, it has become a cultural phenomenon and is popular among European students, going on to become the subject of movies such as the French film L'Auberge espagnole, and the documentary Erasmus 24 7.[31]

The programme fosters learning and understanding of the host country, and the Erasmus experience is considered both a time for learning as well as a chance to socialise and experience a different culture.

Tutors are often keen for students of subjects such as politics or international relations to participate in Erasmus. It is seen as a great opportunity to study abroad while not having the expense of studying outside the European Union, since the grants available to Erasmus students are not available to those opting to leave the Union to study.

Most of the characters in the movie L'Auberge Espagnole are enrolled in the Erasmus programme and the programme plays a central role in the plot.

Pakistani novelist Nimra Ahmed's novel Jannat K Patte (Leaves of Heaven) is based on the Erasmus programme, where the protagonist Haya goes to Sabancı University Turkey through Erasmus Mundus, which marks a turning point in her life.[41]

In the novel Normal People and its subsequent adaptation, Marianne goes to Sweden via the Erasmus programme.

The online public forum Cafébabel was founded in 2001 by Erasmus exchange programme students, and is headquartered in Paris. The forum is based on the principle of participatory journalism. As of June 2020 it had over 15,000 contributors as well as a team of professional editors and journalists in Paris, Brussels, Rome, Madrid and Berlin.[42] Volunteer contributors simultaneously translate the forum into six languages – French, English, German, Italian, Spanish and Polish.[43]