There is no doubt that Erasmus+ offers an excellent range of opportunities for students and staff to broaden their international experience. Key Action 1, in particular, provides a fantastic variety of flexible activities, leading to useful and diverse outcomes. In particular, University College London (UCL) has welcomed the improved support for students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and is pleased to see that their participation has risen steadily, albeit gently, over the past few years. The Online Linguistic Support tool is another great innovation, supporting language learning for student participants prior to and during mobility; often a key concern of British students considering studying abroad. More...

For Ghent University, Erasmus+ is a vital instrument in the attainment of its strategic ambition to see 25% of its students study abroad by 2020. Erasmus+ Key Action 1a on student mobility accounts for 85% of the University’s outgoing exchange. Moreover, as a comprehensive higher education institution with more than 42,000 students, Ghent University greatly values the opportunities that the programme brings for the internationalisation and modernisation of its educational offer, as well as for capacity building with its overseas partners. More...

The budget for Erasmus+ was recently increased to 2.5 billion euros for 2017, representing 13% more funding compared to the previous year. However, given the high demand and the low success rates in some Erasmus+ actions, this is not only welcome, but necessary. More...

In EUA’s membership consultation, feedback on some aspects of the programme structure was quite positive. Respondents underlined that the overall approach of an integrated programme is indeed welcome. In particular, the replacing of separate regional programmes with KA2 Capacity Building was praised. Respondents also appreciated the opportunity to participate in truly global collaboration projects with streamlined regulations, but also expressed the hope that more grants would be made available in the future. More...

This EUA Special Edition Newsletter is dedicated to the results of the member consultation, together with some further reflections on the programme. The report itself, "EUA member consultation: A contribution to the Erasmus+ mid-term review," showcases the responses of more than 200 higher education institutions from 36 countries that participated in the survey. More...