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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). Read the full press release "Number of Erasmus students tops 3 million". Read more...

European universities need to think global, says Commission.
The international higher education landscape is changing dramatically in shape and size, with greater competition from countries such as China and India. This calls for an overhaul in the way Europe's 4 000 universities operate - not only internationally, but also in how they deliver education to European students in their home countries.
Today, the European Commission launches a new strategy, 'European higher education in the world' aiming to ensure European graduates gain the international skills they need to work anywhere in the world and that Europe remains the most attractive destination for international students. Erasmus+, the new EU programme for education, training, youth and sport, will allocate more than €400 million a year to support international student exchanges and increased cooperation between European universities and their partners worldwide.
Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: "European universities need to think global. They must act strategically to capitalise on Europe's reputation for top quality higher education. They need to promote international mobility of students and staff, provide world-class innovative curricula, as well as excellence in teaching and research. While many European universities have good links inside the EU, many lack a clear strategy for strengthening ties with non-European partners. This urgently needs to change. The Commission will support Member States so that they can develop their international higher education networks. There is no one-size-fits-all model for this: countries need to play to their strengths."
There are more than 19 million students in European Union universities and other higher education institutions. The Commission underlines that universities must also promote an international outlook among the 85% of students who are not mobile, so that they too acquire the international skills required in a globalised world. This means universities need to develop international curricula, promote language skills and expand digital learning. Overall, the number of higher education students in the world is expected to quadruple, from around 100 million in 2000 to 400 million in 2030, with particularly strong growth in Asia and Latin America. Europe currently attracts around 45% of all international students, but its competitors are rapidly increasing their investment in higher education. The largest providers of internationally mobile students are China, India and South Korea. The new Erasmus+ programme, to be launched in January 2014, will for the first time mainstream opportunities for students from beyond Europe's borders to spend part of their degree studies at a European university, or vice versa. 135 000 student and staff exchanges between the EU and the rest of the world will be funded - 100 000 more than under the existing Erasmus Mundus programme, in addition to 3 million student and staff exchanges within the EU. Read the full press release "European universities need to think global, says Commission".

By Chris Marshall. THE introduction of fees of up to £9,000 a year has failed to deter applications to Scotland’s universities, new figures show.
Details released yesterday by the University and Colleges Admission Service (Ucas) show a 6.1 per cent increase in applications to Scottish institutions by the 30 June deadline when compared with last year. While there was a modest 1.2 per cent increase in applications from Scots, there was a 13.9 per cent rise in applications from the rest of the UK.
Scottish students and those from elsewhere in the EU are exempt from the cost of tuition, but students from England, Northern Ireland and Wales must pay fees of up to £9,000 a year. The figures show Scotland’s universities appear to have weathered the introduction of higher-rate fees, which were first charged to students in 2012. At this stage of the application cycle last year, the number of people applying to Scottish universities from England was down 5.5 per cent. Read more...

By Judy Siegel-Itzkovich. This phenomenon encourages the brain drain and indicates the failure to take advantage of the abilities of highly trained manpower. Only a third of those who have earned doctoral degrees in Israel are employed by the universities and colleges, according to a survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics for the National Council for Research and Development in the Science, Technology and Space Ministry and released on Monday. This phenomenon – that a third of people with advanced degrees do not find a place for their research abilities in the job market – encourages the brain drain and indicates the failure to take advantage of the abilities of highly trained manpower. Read more...

Students are to be given a role in holding universities to account, it has been announced.
The National Union of Students (NUS) has been asked to help regulate institutions as part of the Government's latest bid to reform higher education.
The move is part of a plan by ministers to give more powers to the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) - the body which hands grants to universities for research and teaching. Read more...

By Melissa Korn. Forget about teacher’s pet. Online education company Coursera is fast becoming an investor’s pet with a new $43 million round of funding. Coursera, which provides hundreds of courses online, said Wednesday it raised the Series B financing from new investors Laureate Education Inc., the World Bank’s investment arm, LearnCapital Venture Partners, GSV Capital and venture capitalist Yuri Milner. Previous investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and New Enterprise Associates, which invested $16 million in Coursera last year, boosted their stakes in the latest round. Read more...