Increase in students swapping places
Source: Agencies |
June 23, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NEARLY 200,000 students are now choosing to spend a year abroad as part of the European Union's Erasmus program, new figures show.
The number traveling abroad to study or work as interns as part of Erasmus, set up in 1987 to encourage student exchanges throughout Europe, rose by nearly 9 percent to 198,600 in 2008/09 from the previous academic year, the EU said.
France, Germany and Spain sent the most students abroad, and were also the most popular destinations for other students, according to European Commission figures.
Erasmus, often the first opportunity European students get to study abroad, was set up with the aim of getting at least 3 million students to trade places by 2012.
Named after the Dutch philosopher Desiderius Erasmus, an opponent of dogmatism who studied throughout Europe, the programme is open to all 27 EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechenstein, Norway, Turkey and Switzerland.
Some academics have even suggested that Erasmus has done more to foster pan-Europeanism than any other EU-backed programme, with young students fondly remembering their time abroad, learning a new language and developing a soft-spot for the places where they spent their 3 to 12-month exchange.
Androulla Vassiliou, the European commissioner in charge of education, said the programme was essential to improving the employability of future generations of Europeans.
"Allowing young people to be mobile for learning should be seen in the wider context of our efforts to improve their personal development and job prospects," she said.
The number traveling abroad to study or work as interns as part of Erasmus, set up in 1987 to encourage student exchanges throughout Europe, rose by nearly 9 percent to 198,600 in 2008/09 from the previous academic year, the EU said.
France, Germany and Spain sent the most students abroad, and were also the most popular destinations for other students, according to European Commission figures.
Erasmus, often the first opportunity European students get to study abroad, was set up with the aim of getting at least 3 million students to trade places by 2012.
Named after the Dutch philosopher Desiderius Erasmus, an opponent of dogmatism who studied throughout Europe, the programme is open to all 27 EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechenstein, Norway, Turkey and Switzerland.
Some academics have even suggested that Erasmus has done more to foster pan-Europeanism than any other EU-backed programme, with young students fondly remembering their time abroad, learning a new language and developing a soft-spot for the places where they spent their 3 to 12-month exchange.
Androulla Vassiliou, the European commissioner in charge of education, said the programme was essential to improving the employability of future generations of Europeans.
"Allowing young people to be mobile for learning should be seen in the wider context of our efforts to improve their personal development and job prospects," she said.
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