Student Special: Erasmus+ "promises discovery, excitement and new horizons"

Once you start college, you’ll almost definitely hear the word “Erasmus”. So what’s it all about?

It’s a name, for students especially, that promises discovery, excitement and new horizons: strolls through cobbled streets, cities with great (and inexpensive) nightlife, food, drink and lodgings, rattling trams – and new and lasting friendships. Not to mention a whole fresh palette of Instagrammable photo-settings.

Erasmus+ is one of the EU’s flagship programmes. It makes a vital contribution to the lives and the futures of students and apprentices – mostly young people – right across the Union and beyond.

It began in 1987 with 3,200 participants. Now it’s over 18 million. There are a number of strands, variously funding students, staff and institutions to go to another EU country to study, work, volunteer or teach. It also enables those engaged in joint research projects to work in a multi-institutional, international network.

Most of the €26.2 billion EU budget for Erasmus+ goes into mobility, i.e. supporting individuals to travel. That often means a semester abroad, but if you’re doing an international degree it’s likely to include a full year in another EU Member State.

It’s important to note that it’s not just for people doing a semester abroad at an academic institution. Erasmus+ also covers school pupils, apprentices, adult learners, youth workers, and even sports coaches. So if you’re doing a trade or an apprenticeship, rather than a degree, you’re included too.

There’s a dedicated scheme called ErasmusPro, built specifically for longer vocational placements, letting an apprentice electrician or a trainee chef spend up to a year working abroad. The target is to provide 1.6 million Vocational Education and Training (VET) learners and apprentices across the EU – including Ireland – with a placement abroad before 2027. To say that the scheme is a brilliant one is to seriously understate it.

Some prospective participants worry about a possible language barrier. Well, they can relax. While it’s good to incorporate language learning into the experience, it’s not essential. Some universities even offer English language programmes.

And if money is an issue, there’s extra funding available, covering things like disability, financial hardship, or living somewhere that makes travel harder to begin with. Also, short-term projects (lasting a few months) exist specifically to ensure that a full semester abroad isn’t the only option.

Then there’s DiscoverEU, which hands 18-year-olds the opportunity to get a free rail pass to go inter-railing around Europe and explore the continent on their own terms.

Erasmus+ is good for your CV. According to the European Commission’s own research, people who study or train abroad are half as likely to be long-term unemployed, with unemployment rates 23% lower five years after graduating. An EU study shows that 92% of employers are looking for personality traits boosted by the programme: tolerance, confidence, problem-solving skills, curiosity and decisiveness.

It’s intended as an enrichment experience, for the millions of participants, and for the countries they land in. Anyone who does it, whether semester-length or year-long, will tell of the many new experiences it brings and the benefits of living in, as opposed to visiting, a different EU Member State.

But they’ll also tell you how Erasmus+ gives them a new and liberating perspective on their own country. You get depth of field. It’s like the difference between looking at something through one eye and two.

The social life opportunities are also pretty significant. The experiences and memories, friendships and professional connections made through Erasmus+ form a grand web of relationships, bonding European people, institutions and countries.

That’s vital in building a European Union of shared understanding – and especially so at a time when influencers, social media mobs, and comment sections are trying to tell you what to think about a country. Living in one teaches you to think for yourself.

Your university, college or training centre is likely to have connections and application forms for participation in Erasmus+. Or you can also apply as an individual.

• For more information on Erasmus+ visit erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu

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