AFTER a six-year hiatus the Erasmus scheme is finally returning to Britain, allowing university students to study in Europe without extra fees and giving UK universities a boost in international exchange.
With Brexit came the UK’s exclusion from Erasmus and the introduction of the Turing Scheme, a UK-only funded programme that offers worldwide outbound funding for those at university.
Unlike Erasmus, Turing Scheme funding is given to universities not directly to students. This means that each institution decides who gets grants and how much they receive.
“Erasmus funding is more predictable than Turing as the Turing Scheme depends on how much money your university wants to give you,” one UK student told the Olive Press.
At some universities all students receive Turing funding while at others only those from disadvantaged backgrounds or those doing study placements, not work placements, are given money.
Under Erasmus there is an automatic exchange for all students going on a year abroad in Europe.
Furthermore, as the aforementioned student said, ‘the Erasmus scheme has more long term established relationships with universities’ so students have more options of where they can study. For the last few years study abroad destinations have depended on where a student’s home institution has partner universities.
Erasmus’ 2027 return has excited thousands of young Brits who are now setting their sights on semesters abroad.
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All you need to know about Erasmus
The name ‘Erasmus’ comes from the 15th century Dutch Renaissance humanist and theologian, Erasmus of Rotterdam, who was renowned for traveling throughout Europe to teach and study – it also works perfectly as an acronym for European Community Action Scheme for Mobility of University Students.
It was established in 1987 with the aim of promoting closer cooperation between universities and higher education institutions across Europe. Since then it has evolved to become known as Erasmus+.
So far, in just under 40 years, over 16 million people have taken part in the programme.
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