Full degree students

The free movement of the EU makes it possible for students in the EU to take a full degree education in other EU countries. If you fulfill the admission requirements, you are to be accepted at the applied study and university in another EU country on equal terms with the students in that country.

Picture: www.doek.dk -

Countries with free education can be very attractive for students from countries, where they pay tuition fee. In some EU countries like Denmark, Sweden and Germany, students also become study grant from the state, so they can concentrate on their study without having to work so much in their spare time to make a living. Normally, study grants from the state are only intented for the students, who are citizen of that state. But in februrary 2013 Denmark was convicted by the European Court of Justice to pay study grant to students from other EU countries, if they had been working in Denmark before and therefore had been recognized as workers in Denmark. This is because workers from all EU Countries according to the right of free movement in Europe have to be treated on equal footing with the workers in the EU country, where they work. It means that they are entitled to the same social services as the citizen in that country – also study grant, if they decide to stop working and start studying.
 The Danish Government are afraid that this judgment can be very expensive for Denmark, and therefore they are considering, if they can find a way to avoid paying study grants to students, who are not Danish citizens in the future.

picture:www.mikandersen.dk -

As a full degree student in another country, you are not just facing a new study with new study mates. You are also facing a new country with a different language and different habits from what you are used to. In those circumstances it can be nice with support and advice from students in the same situation.
At Aarhus University in Denmark there are for the time being around 3400 students from abroad taking a full degree in Denmark. Most of them are from Latvia, Germany and the other Nordic countries. At the blog hey you AU http://fulldegreeheyyouau.wordpress.com/ they are blogging about, how it is to be a foreign student in Aarhus.

European Universities welcome the Erasmus+ initiative

Staff at the International Offices at both The English University of Surrey and The German University of Bonn are convinced that student mobility is  important for the future cooperation between the membership countries of The European Union. When it comes to challenges facing the attempt to increase student mobility the offices mentions structural problems as finance and credit transfer.


Both Universities mentions the intercultural learning experience and the students great deal of self development as some of the most pronounced benefits for student mobility and for the Erasmus program.
Annette Kratz from the University of Surrey in England says: "The main benefits of student mobility are the fundamental changes that a person goes through when they have to choose to work or study in another country. It takes them outside their comfort zone."

Besides the personal development both Universities point out that an increase in student mobility can also increase the students feeling of being an European citizen. That is also an important goal for raising student mobility within the continent.
Andraes Archut from The International Office at The University of Bonn explain why student mobility in Europe is important:"The program gives intercultural learning and acedemic benefits, and it contributes to establishing a "European Identity" among young people, which especially is important in the current European crisis."


About challanges around the Erasmus+ program and increasing student mobility in Europe, the two offices point out multiple examples. Anette Kratz mentions communicating the benefits to the students, to get problems about credit transfer worked out so that the study period is not extended, financial problems and language barriers. Andreas Archut mentions  integration of students into international programmes as well as overcoming language and structural barriers.






    

If you want to join the Erasmus programme

If you want to join the Erasmus programme click here to read the Commissions advice about how to join in:  http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/erasmus_en.htm

You can also click here to visit the website of the Erasmus programme: http://www.erasmusprogramme.com/

                                                     Picture:www.business-school-pgsm.com                                                                            

From 2014 the new Erasmus+ programme will bring together in a single programme the Lifelong Learning Programme, Youth in Action and five international programs such as Erasmus Mundus. In this program sport will also be covered for the first time, as it is a new area of the EU competence under the Lisbon Treaty. 

The exact details for the Erasmus+ are not yet in place. But the duration of the exchanges between programme countries that should be supported by the new Erasmus+ is:

·      student mobility for studies: from 3 to 12 months

·      student mobility for traineeships: from 2 to 12 months

·      staff mobility: from 2 days (excluding travel time) to 2 months, with at least 8 hours teaching in case of teaching assignment

EuroparlTv: 25 Years of Erasmus Programe

EuroparlTv video:
25 Years of Erasmus Program,  2012

The new Erasmus +

More simple, more efficient and with a much larger budget.
That is some of the key ingredients in the new Erasmus+ programme, which the Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament agreed upon on the 26^th of June this year. The programme runs from 2014 to 2020 and deals with education, training, youth and sports. The aim is to improve people´s skills, personal development and job prospects. In pursuing this, the Erasmus+ brings together in a single programme the Lifelong Learning Programme, Youth in Action and five international programs such as Erasmus Mundus. In this program sport will also be covered for the first time, as it is a new area of the EU competence under the Lisbon Treaty. 

Picture:www.bangkokpost.com

Erasmus+ will be open to all EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, EU candidate countries and other countries in the Western Balkans.  Several non-EU countries will also benefit from actions aimed at promoting study and training opportunities abroad, as well as youth activities.

Read more about the Erasmus + on the European Commissions site: http://ec.europa.eu/education/erasmus-for-all/

Double up

The Erasmus+ program has a budget on approximately €19 billion in the period 2014-2020. That is more than 50 percent more than all the former programs had at their disposal. During the next seven years the program is expected to give mobility possibilities to 5 million people, of whom 3 million will be students of higher education or vocational students. This is almost a doubling of the number of students going abroad.  As a completely new element, around 330.00 Full-time Masters' students will also benefit from a new loan guarantee scheme set up with the European Investment Bank Group.

Do you think, the goals for the Erasmus+ are ambitious enough?

Is this a good way to spend the European Unions money?

To put the number in perspective, here are three charts showing the development in the overall student mobility in Europe until now.

The first chart shows, how many students went abroad with Erasmus to study in the period 1988-2011.


The second chart shows, how many European students went abroad to study from 2000 to 2011 in thousands. Includet in this number is both exchange students and full degree students.

The third chart shows, how many European students went abroad to study from 2000 to 2011 in  percent of the entire student population.Includet in this number is both exchange students and full degree students. 

Efficient and effectful

By comprehending all programs dealing with education, training, youth and sports in one, Eramus+ is supposed to increase efficiency by making it easier to apply for grants and reducing duplication and fragmentation. Furthermore, the Erasmus+ is expected to be much more effectful, because the program will increase possibilities to cooperate across education sectors and across borders of formel and informel learning. To do this, the Erasmus+ program will focus its action and activities on three main areas running through all education sectors and youth areas: Mobility, cooperation and policy reform.

An important - and completely new - tool in this strategy is the creation of 200 “Knowledge Alliances” and 200 “Sector Skills Alliances. Knowledge Alliances are large-scale partnerships between higher education institutions and businesses to promote creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship by offering new learning opportunities and qualifications. Sector Skills Alliances are partnerships between education and training providers and businesses to promote employability by forming new sector-specific curricula and innovative forms of vocational teaching and training.

Read more about the Erasmus + on the European Commissions site: http://ec.europa.eu/education/erasmus-for-all/

Why The European Council prioritizes student mobility

Picture: http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2011/03/01/the-eu-charter-are-we-in-or-out/

The European Union Council has with the agreement of the new Erasmus program, Erasmus+, made a serious effort to increase the international student mobility in Europe. Student mobility is seen as being of great importance for the European Union.

The European Council has found a rising need for young Europeans to be mobile in order to promote European learning mobility, and encourage the European youth to view themselves as European citizens. In addition the Eramus+ promotes sharing of knowledge and progress of business life.

The council regards student mobility as an essential step to increase competitiveness of EU, because it is a part of the development toward a higher level of knowledge in Europe. According to www.euo.dk The European Council has a goal for student mobility to be the norm instead of an exception. 

http://www.euo.dk/upload/application/pdf/ff92e113/08E64.pdf

“Many studies show that a period spent abroad not only enriches students' lives in the academic and professional fields, but can also improve language learning, intercultural skills, self-reliance and self-awareness. Their experiences give students a better sense of what it means to be a European citizen. In addition, many employers highly value such a period abroad, which

increases the students' employability and job prospects. Staff exchanges have similar beneficial effects, both for the people participating and for the home and host institutions.”

http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/erasmus_en.htm

“What are the objectives of student mobility for studies?

* To enable students to benefit educationally, linguistically and culturally from the experience of learning in other European countries;

* To promote co-operation between institutions and to enrich the educational environment of host institutions;

*To contribute to the development of a pool of well-qualified, open-minded and internationally experienced young people as future professionals.”

www.europa.eu