Erasmus+ opens up new opportunities for gaining experience abroad

The opportunities presented by the 2021–2027 programme generation are already having an impact.

Report

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Text: Dr. Melanie Förster und Agnes Schulze-von Laszewski

With the current programme generation for 2021– 2027, the European Commission is pursuing its declared objective of making Erasmus+ more accessible, inclusive and future-oriented. New funding opportunities aim to provide more people with access to experiences abroad, break down barriers and strengthen international exchange, both within Europe and beyond. For higher education institutions, this presents an opportunity to develop their international focus more effectively and reach a wider audience. The results of the 2022 call for proposals are now available, when these measures became fully possible at German higher education institutions for the first time. An initial assessment.¹

Erasmus+ is a well-established flagship project of the European Union. Since its inception, it has promoted student exchanges within the EU
and worldwide, as well as openness to other countries and cultures. It has also encouraged learning about different perspectives and approaches in both private and professional settings. The changes introduced at the start of the programme generation in 2021 were intended to future-proof Erasmus+ and Europe and enable more people to participate in mobility abroad. As the first year was characterised by transition and the coronavirus pandemic, the 2022 to 2024 funding period will provide the first comprehensive and reliable data on the impact of the key innovations in Germany.

Erasmus+ ready for the future

New funding opportunities and instruments mean that Erasmus+ can address and shape current challenges even more effectively. Thanks to cooperation with the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+), this is made possible in the area of inclusion and social participation. For German higher education institutions, this has resulted in an additional € 57 million in funding, which is unique in Europe to date. People with disabilities, people with children, people from non-academic backgrounds, and students who work to finance their studies are all given special support. Funding for these groups has increased by a »top-up« of € 250 per month.

Impressive funding opportunities

Approximately 40 percent of grant recipients were already benefiting from these incentives shortly after their introduction. For instance, 17,346 students from disadvantaged backgrounds received funding. As of 2022, Erasmus+ students from non-academic backgrounds are entitled to receive the »top-up«. In the 2021 call for proposals, this funding was optional. The change is clearly reflected in the figures, which show that while a total of 8.6 percent of outgoing students received such additional funding in the 2021 call, the figure was already 38.7 percent in the 2022 call. Furthermore, opportunities to fund short-term periods abroad have increased. This is particularly attractive for those who, for various reasons, cannot go abroad for several months. Higher education institutions often use it as part of »Blended Intensive Programmes« (BIPs), for »Summer Schools« or exchanges of teaching or administrative staff (see info box).

A one-time additional grant of € 50 was also provided to support sustainable travel: a total of 16,265 grant recipients travelled to their exchange country using sustainable means of transport, such as trains or bicycles. This represented 32.6 per cent of all grant recipients. Some of these students have shared their enriching experiences on our website, eu.daad.de.

The high demand for Erasmus+ stays abroad proves the effectiveness of the additional funding with mobility figures (student and staff mobility) rising by 37 per cent compared to the 2021 call for proposals (increasing from approximately 37,000 to around 50,000 mobility programmes). This development is due to the budget increasing by 51 per cent to 157 million euros, compared to 104 million euros, and the NA DAAD in- creasing funding rates by 33 per cent (when comparing the 2022 call with the 2021 call).

Positive effects of Erasmus+

The new initiatives in the 2022 call aim to reinforce and extend the positive impact of the Erasmus+ programme. Recent studies show that Erasmus+ promotes an understanding of migration and diversity, openness to new ideas, and improved intercultural, language, communication and independence skills. Erasmus+ programme coordinators at higher education institutions are consequently placing greater emphasis on participation and inclusion, as well as digitalisation and sustainable mobility. They are introducing these subjects to their higher education institutions and strengthening cooperation with other organisations within their institutions, such as regional associations. This makes these issues visible far beyond the individual experiences of students. The increased budget supports internationalisation, enhancing the appeal of higher education institutions by promoting stays abroad for administrative staff, for example.

On the path to success

In light of these results, it is the responsibility of higher education institutions and political decision-makers to continue advocating for the development and funding of Erasmus+ to enable as many participants as possible to benefit fully from the programme. Agnes Schulze-von Laszewski, Head of the Erasmus+ Key Action 1: Mobility of Individuals Unit at the National Agency DAAD, summarises the positive developments to date, stating, »It is very encouraging that, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the almost simultaneous launch of the 2021–2027 programme generation, German higher education institutions are demonstrating a strong commitment to supporting all the objectives of the Erasmus+ programme, with tangible results already evident in its second year. The new opportunities for disadvantaged people, particularly those relating to sustainable travel, have been very well implemented and many beneficiaries have already been able to take advantage of them«.

"Blended Intensive Programmes" (BIPs)

BIPs are designed to enable short study or training programmes abroad, which are carried out as part of a course offered jointly by higher education institutions. The initiative supports the development of joint short-term programmes that are ideally embedded in the collaborating higher education institutions’ curricula. BIPs can form part of existing curricula or supplement them. They can be established as a new teaching format or viewed as an enhancement of existing formats with additional features. A central element of BIPs is the virtual component, which is mandatory and enables content preparation, support and follow-up for the short mobility phase. The scope and frequency of this component are at the discretion of the higher education institutions organising the programme and depend on the learning objectives of the respective event.

BIPs should also appeal to the higher education institution staff and encourage them to collaborate with colleagues abroad on designing learning units, even if they have little experience of this type of collaboration. At the same time, the format offers students who, for various reasons, are unable to spend longer periods abroad access to international experience. Collaborating higher education institutions have flexible organisational resources at their disposal for organising and implementing BIPs.

In the 2022 call, German higher education institutions coordinated a total of 120 BIPs. This allows departments to incorporate international experience into their study programmes and strengthen their cooperation with international partner institutions.

More information to BIPs on the NA DAAD website (in German).

¹The evaluation takes place after all calls for proposals have been completed. In 2022, the funds requested were used to support place- ments abroad from June 2022 to August 2024.

Blended Intensive Programmes (BIPs) equal opportunities top-up student mobility