Established in 1987, Erasmus, the EU's flagship education and training programme for mobility and cooperation in higher education across Europe, continues to expand. Erasmus receives approximately € 450 million per annum under the EU's Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013. For the academic year 2006/07, figures show that 3% more students and 10% more university teachers went abroad compared to the previous year. This brought the total participants to almost 160 000 students and 26 000 teachers in that year alone. Central and Eastern European countries, as well as Turkey, have had the biggest growth in the numbers participating in the programme.

Student and teacher mobility

During the 20-year period from 1987 to 2007, approximately 1.7 million students benefited from a study period abroad under the Erasmus programme with 159,324 Erasmus students in the academic year 2006/07. This represents an annual increase of 3.2% compared to 7.2% in the previous year.

Germany continued to be the biggest sender with 23,884 Erasmus students followed by:

• France (22,981)
• Spain (22,322)
• Italy (17,195).

Spain remained the most popular destination for students, receiving 27,464 over the year, with France in second place (20 673), followed by Germany (17 878) and the United Kingdom (16 508).

Business studies are still the most popular subject area for Erasmus students. Languages/philological sciences and social sciences occupy the second and third spots. The average duration of an Erasmus student mobility period is 6.5 months.

Efforts had been made to increase the average grant that students get from the Erasmus budget. The European average monthly grant amounted to € 192 in 2006/2007, up by 22% from the previous year, and is expected to further increase in the current year.

What is ERASMUS?

Erasmus is part of the EU's Lifelong Learning Programme, and receives € 450 m funding each year. Currently an estimated 3.5 % of European students receive an Erasmus grant at some stage of their studies. Erasmus not only caters for the 'classic' student and teacher mobility to one of the 31 participating countries but also offers students the opportunity to undertake a business placement as part of their studies. University staff may now go on training abroad, too. Erasmus also supports higher education institutions to work together through intensive programmes, networks, projects and other measures and to reach out to the world of business and to society.