The Erasmus Programme
The Erasmus Programme (European Region Action
Scheme for the Mobility of University Students), is a European Union (EU) student exchange programme established in 1987.
It forms a major part of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013, and is the operational framework for the European Commission's initiatives in higher education.
The Erasmus Programme, together with a number of other independent Programmes, was incorporated into the SOCRATES Programme established by the European Commission in 1994. The Socrates Programme ended on 31 December 1999 and was replaced with the Socrates II Programme on 24 January 2000, which in turn was replaced by the Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013.
The aim of Erasmus is to encourage and support academic mobility of higher education students and teachers within the European Union, the European Economic Area countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway as well as EU candidate country such as Turkey. Switzerland is again eligible for membership since 2007, after a period of absence following the rejection by that country of closer links with the European Union in the late 1990s. During that time span, Swiss universities pursued inter-university collaboration with other European institutions through a system closely based on Erasmus.
The Programme is named after the Dutch philosopher Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, known as an opponent of dogmatism, who lived and worked in many places in Europe to expand his knowledge and gain new insights, and who left his fortune to the University of Basel in Switzerland. It was later given the backronym European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students.
THe ERASMUS EXPERIENCE
For many European students, the Erasmus Programme is their first time living and studying abroad. Hence, it has become a cultural phenomenon and is very popular among European students, going on to become the subject of movies such as French film L'Auberge espagnole which, it is claimed, has led to an increase in potential Erasmus students in Barcelona, Spain. The Programme fosters not only learning and understanding of the host country, but also a sense of community among students from different countries and it can be hard to know what one might expect. The Erasmus experience is considered both a time for learning as well as a chance to socialize. "Erasmus parties" are known in university cities across Europe for being boisterous, multilingual events.
Tutors are often keen for students of subjects, such as Politics or International Relations, to participate in Erasmus. It is seen as a great opportunity to study abroad while not having the expense of studying outside the European Union as the grant available to Erasmus students are not available to those opting to leave the continent to study. Simply having Erasmus on one's Curriculum Vitae is seen as being a very positive thing because that one word explains the whole experience of studying abroad. Therefore, those who partake in the Programme are considered more employable than those who do not.