The European Commission published new figures, on 21 June, showing that a record number of students went abroad for studies and company placements under the EU’s Erasmus programme during the academic year 2008-2009. According to the figures, a total of 198,600 students went to one of the 31 countries (EU member states plus Iceland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Turkey) participating in the Erasmus programme, reflecting a 8.7% increase on the previous academic year.

The Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Androulla Vassiliou, described the figures as “a true European success story” and stated that Erasmus was making “learning mobility the rule rather than the exception”.

The record numbers reflect a 12% increase in the budget available for students in the 2008-2009 academic year, which also led to an increase in the average monthly grant received by students, rising from €255 to €272. The biggest increase was registered in the amount of students going to another country for placements in businesses and other organisations, an opportunity offered by Erasmus since 2007. This saw an increase of more than 50% in the 2008-2009 academic year, representing 30,400 students.

The average duration of these placements was around 4.5 months and students received a monthly grant of €432.

Further increases were seen in staff mobility, with the Erasmus programme supporting more than 36,000 exchanges of staff from higher education institutions, a 13.6% increase from the previous academic year. The countries sending the highest numbers of Erasmus students were France (28,300), Germany (27,900) and Spain (27,400). However, as a share of the student population, Luxembourg was the top performer, with 15.5% of students participating. The most popular destinations for Erasmus students were Spain (33,200), France (24,600) and Germany (22,000). Some 63% of Erasmus students for the 2008-2009 academic year were female and in the same year, 213 students with special needs took part, representing a 29% increase over the previous year.

Erasmus allows higher education students to do either studies or a placement in another European country for a period of between three and 12 months. Students in short-cycle higher vocational education can also take advantage of the programme to spend at least two weeks abroad for placements (increased to two months in 2010). Since the programme’s establishment in 1987, over two million higher education students have received grants to study or train abroad and an estimated 4% of European students receive an Erasmus grant at some stage of their studies. The programme also expanded in 2009, with the addition of Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. However, lower budget increases in the coming years will make it difficult for the programme to continue to expand at a similar rate without additional resources.

Further information is available at ec.europa.eu/education/erasmus/doc920_en.htm