Erasmus+ provides new opportunities such as top-up grants for environmentally friendly ways of traveling, short-term and blended mobility, and additional grants for participants with fewer opportunities: all of which need to be well planned and funded. Universities are doing their best to support students by adopting quick fixes to plug the funding gaps but expect the 2022/2023 academic year to bring additional challenges once the budget from previous years is absorbed.
At the same time, universities are expected to meet the deadlines for the new digitalisation agenda to manage student mobility. However, these important efforts still lack reliable infrastructure and support.
The Guild calls on the Commission and national agencies to work together with universities on long-term solutions, as well as immediate solutions such as providing national co-funding, greater flexibility at reporting stage, and support mechanisms to reach the top-up targets.
Jan Palmowski, Secretary-General of The Guild said: “We cherish Erasmus+ as one of the great European success stories over the past 35 years. This has been enabled by a combination of political vision, and its translation to action through close collaboration between universities and the Commission. We call on the Commission to work closely with universities in financing and implementing an enhanced Erasmus+ programme looking to the future.”
25 January 2022