Erasmus Programme
The objective of Erasmus+ is to promote transnational learning mobility and cooperation, as a mean of improving quality and excellence, supporting inclusion and equity, and boosting innovation in the fields of education, youth and sport.
[4] Launched in 1987, the Erasmus programme was originally established to promote closer cooperation between universities and higher education institutions across Europe.
Over time, the programme has expanded and is now referred to as Erasmus+, or Erasmus Plus, combining the EU's different schemes for transnational cooperation and mobility in education, training, youth and sport in Europe and beyond.
Its name refers to Erasmus of Rotterdam, a leading scholar and inspiring lecturer during the Renaissance period who travelled extensively in Europe to teach and study at a number of universities.
The lack of peer-to-peer support was singled out as a major issue, but it was also a driving force behind the creation of the Erasmus Student Network.
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 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.
[7] The programme's origins can be traced through a series of significant events documented on the official European Commission programme page: In 1969, the concept of promoting cultural, social, and academic exchanges among European students took root, thanks to the efforts of Italian educator and scientific consultant Sofia Corradi for the permanent conference of Italian university rectors.
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.
[citation needed] By the time the Erasmus Programme was adopted in June 1987, the European Commission had been supporting pilot student exchanges for six years.
[1] This method of voting, a simple majority, was not accepted by some of the opposing member states, who challenged the adoption of the decision before the European Court of Justice.
[17] 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.
Erasmus+ key action one provides an opportunity for teachers, headmasters, trainers and other staff of education institutions to participate in international training courses in different European countries.
[27] For the second phase of the programme, the EU has made the commitment to expand Erasmus+ further and to enrich it by introducing a new 'greening' dimension as well as a strong new digital education component.
Further transversal priorities for the programme are the commitment to social inclusion and diversity, and to promoting stronger participation in democratic life, common values and civic engagement.
Spain is the country that has allowed most people to participate in Erasmus with more than 40,000 per year, slightly ahead of France, Germany and Italy.
It professionalizes international cooperation, strengthens academic ties, fosters research collaborations, and forms informal networks, creating friendships across borders.
[33] 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.
[35][36] 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.
It professionalises international cooperation, strengthens academic ties, fosters research collaborations, and forms informal networks, creating friendships across borders.
In this respect, and thanks to its popularity among students, it has emerged as a contemporary cultural phenomenon, inspiring books and films that explore the Erasmus experience.
In David Mitchell's 1997 novel Slade House, an Erasmus party is the scene for an important experience for fresher student Sally Timms.
[41] In the novel Normal People (2018) written by Irish author Sally Rooney and its subsequent adaptation for television, Marianne goes to Sweden via the Erasmus programme.
[42] Volunteer contributors simultaneously translate the forum into six languages – French, English, German, Italian, Spanish and Polish.
In 2005, the political scientist Stefan Wolff, for example, argued that "Give it 15, 20 or 25 years, and Europe will be run by leaders with a completely different socialisation from those of today", referring to the so-called 'Erasmus generation'.
She gives a particular attention to the need to activate an exchange between young people from all over Europe to contribute to the strengthening of its unity and integrity.
[51] The European Commission estimates that the program has resulted directly in the births of over 1 million children, sometimes called "Erasmus Babies".
[55] However, more recent research has criticised the earlier findings for being methodically flawed, relying primarily on the experience of British students and for using relatively small samples.
