Erasmus +
Image: Erasmus +, Staffordshire University.
Erasmus + is an EU funding programme for education, training, youth and sport. Each year, more opportunities for academic, learning and volunteer experiences abroad are offered to over 4 million Europeans through a budget of €14.7 billion for the period 2014-2020.
These opportunities are not only provided for students, but also to individuals of all ages and organisations. The programme contributes to the Europe 2020 strategy in promoting growth, jobs, social equity and inclusion. More specifically, Erasmus + directly addresses education and training, skills reinforcement, youth participation in European democracy, innovation as well as cooperation and mobility throughout Europe and with the EU's partner countries.
Budget
The Programme has an overall indicative financial envelope of 14.774 billion EUR under Heading 1 and of 1.680 billion EUR under Heading 4 of the EU Budget for the seven years (2014-2020).
Activities funded
Erasmus + aims to fund projects targeting the facilitation of learning and mobility opportunities for students, education staff, trainees, apprentices, volunteers, youth workers and young people.
For more information, see:
Key Actions
Erasmus + can be defined by various goals and fund many projects, clustered in key actions such as Key Action (KA) 1, KA2, KA3, Jean Monnet or Sport.
Key Action 1: Learning mobility of individuals
Key Action 1 aims to encourage the mobility of students, staff, volunteers, youth workers, and young people. Organisations can arrange to send or receive students and staff to or from participating countries, as well as organise teaching, training, learning and volunteering activities.
For more information, see:
Key Action 2: Innovation and good practices
Key Action 2 is designed to develop the education, training, and youth sectors through five main activities:
- Strategic partnerships to support innovation in the sector as well as joint initiatives to promote cooperation, peer-learning, and the sharing of experience.
- Knowledge Alliances to foster innovation in and through higher education together with businesses, and beyond, contributing to new approaches to teaching and learning, entrepreneurship in education, and the modernisation of higher education systems in Europe.
- Sector Skills Alliances to tackle skills gap and ensure a better alignment of vocational education and training with labour market needs. There are opportunities to modernise VET, exchange knowledge and best practices, encourage working abroad, and increase the recognition of qualifications.
- Capacity-building projects in the field of higher education to support the modernisation, accessibility, and internationalisation of higher education in Partner Countries.
- Capacity-building projects in the field of youth to support the development of youth work, non-formal learning, and volunteer work, as well as promote non-formal learning opportunities with Partner Countries
For more information, see:
Key Action 3: Support for policy reform
Key Action 3 aims to increase the participation of young people in democratic life, especially in discussions with policy makers, as well as developing knowledge in the fields of education, training, and youth.
For more information, see:
Programme website: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/node_en