Number of Erasmus students tops 3 million

Figures released today reveal that more than 3 million students have benefitted from EU Erasmus grants since the exchange scheme's launch in 1987.
The statistics, covering the 2011-2012 academic year, also show that the programme enabled more than 250 000 Erasmus students – a new record – to spend part of their higher education studies abroad or to take up a job placement with a foreign company to boost their employability. More than 46 500 academic and administrative staff also received support from Erasmus to teach or train abroad, an experience designed to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the 33 countries which participate in the scheme (EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and Turkey).
Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: "The latest record figures, showing that we have exceeded our target of 3 million Erasmus students, are testament to the enduring success and popularity of the programme. Erasmus is more important than ever in times of economic hardship and high youth unemployment: the skills and international experience gained by Erasmus students make them more employable and more likely to be mobile on the labour market. Erasmus has also played a tremendous role in improving the quality of higher education in Europe by opening up our universities and colleges to international cooperation. Looking to the future, I'm delighted that our new Erasmus+ programme will enable 4 million young people to study, train, teach or volunteer abroad in the next seven years."
Among the countries participating in Erasmus, the three most popular destinations for students in 2011-2012 were Spain, France and Germany. Spain also sent the largest number of students abroad, followed by Germany and France. Read more...