The international dimension of Erasmus for All



The international dimension of Erasmus for All

1) Current international cooperation programmes in higher education (2007-13)

The Commission is currently funding five higher education cooperation programmes with different parts of the world: Tempus is a capacity building programme for the modernisation of higher education, through cooperation projects between EU universities and their counterparts from the Western Balkans, EU Neighbouring countries and Central Asian countries. Alfa and Edulink have similar objectives: Alfa covers Latin America while Edulink, ACP countries. The Commission has also set up co-operation programmes with industrialised countries, which co-fund, with the partner countries, joint and double degree projects, joint mobility projects and policy activities.

Finally, Erasmus Mundus is a mobility programme, offering on the one hand scholarships to attend high quality joint mater and doctoral programmes (degree mobility) and on the other, Erasmus type scholarships to university consortia working with different parts of the world (mainly credit mobility).

Tempus, Erasmus Mundus and the cooperation programme with industrialised countries are currently managed by the Executive Agency. Alfa is managed by DEVCO while Edulink is managed by the ACP Secretariat. Although they have similar goals, all these programmes fund comparable but still slightly different types of actions, following different calendars, and different implementation modalities and procedures.

2) International actions under Erasmus for All (2013-20)

Erasmus for All will regroup these five programmes under one roof, with identical implementation modalities and calendars.

Based on the description of the international dimension in the proposed Erasmus for All Regulation, the following kind of actions could be envisaged:

2.1 Mobility

Degree mobility: Mobility will continue to be highly visible with the funding of excellent joint degrees and the provision of related scholarships for students and staff worldwide (action 1 of the present Erasmus Mundus programme). Only the very best proposals will be selected through a competitive bidding process managed by EACEA.

Doctoral programmes will be discontinued as they overlap with the Initial Training Networks funded under the Marie Curie Actions. Under Horizon 2020, the doctoral component of Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions will be reinforced.

Credit mobility will be largely opened compared to the present situation where only a small number of universities have access to Erasmus Mundus/ action 2 calls for proposal. Credit mobility will be based on the current Erasmus system, where scholarships are awarded on the basis of bilateral agreements between universities. This cooperation will for the first time be extended to non EU universities. Funding for international mobility actions will be allocated following the priorities of the EU external policy. As regards the international dimension, this action will fund mobility between EU and third country institutions (in both directions where possible) of (i) students to either study at a partner institution or gain work experience abroad; and (ii) university staff to teach or be trained abroad (international opening of the current Erasmus).

2.2 Cooperation

Capacity building actions for the modernisation of higher education systems will also be streamlined: to respond to the strong political pressure, cooperation with neighbouring countries will be reinforced and brought together with mobility actions, to ensure that mobility has an impact not only on the individuals benefitting from it, but also on strengthening the international cooperation capacities of HE institutions. The weakness of the present setting is that Tempus and Erasmus Mundus are implemented as separate actions and do not necessarily complement each other.

This action will finance joint projects based on multilateral partnerships between higher education institutions from the EU and Neighbouring countries. They will promote the exchange of knowledge between EU universities and institutions in Neighbouring countries. These joint projects will fund curriculum development and modernisation, joint or double degrees, modern teaching and learning practices, upgrading of facilities and equipment, improving university governance and creating better links between higher education and the world of work. All projects will have an integrated mobility component that will allow students as well as academic staff to travel both to and from the EU.

This action will also finance projects that will seek to have an impact on national systems, by involving national authorities, alongside universities. Such projects could for example address the introduction of Bologna reforms and the reform of governance structures and systems (qualification frameworks, quality assurance, accreditation, evaluation systems, etc.).

Western Balkan countries not fully participating in the programme will also be able to benefit from this possibility.

With Asia, Latin America and Africa a new action will replace Alfa and Edulink and contribute to modernising higher education systems, and building up local capacities through cooperation projects in Asia, Latin America and ACP countries

This action will finance joint projects based on multilateral partnerships between higher education institutions from the EU and Asia, Latin America and Africa. It will be similar to the special action for Neighbouring countries described above, except that it will not have an integrated mobility component. Mobility will be limited to university staff, and to achieve the projects' objectives.

2.3 Policy support

This action will aim at supporting. policy dialogue activities with selected world partners to foster an exchange between parties on issues of common interest to promote Europe's worldwide attractiveness and values; support policy developments and modernisation efforts in partner countries; encourage mutual learning as a way of influencing policies and programmes; and foster people to people contacts, mobility and intercultural dialogue. This can take the form of experts’ exchanges, senior officials meetings, joint studies, peer reviews, regional policy platforms, study visits or promotional events and fairs.

2.4 Joint Calls

In addition, the Commission may launch joint calls with third countries or their organisations and agencies to jointly fund joint and double degrees (and related scholarships) and policy activities.

3. Funding the international dimension of Erasmus for All

As is currently the case under Erasmus Mundus, the degree mobility action will continue to be funded from Heading 1. All the other HE international mobility and cooperation actions will be funded from Heading 4. To this end, the budget of the Programme (of EUR17 299 000 000 as stipulated in art 13.1) will be complemented by financial allocations coming from the different external cooperation instruments (IPA, ENI, DCI, PI, EDF) for an indicative amount of EUR 1 812 100 000. Funds will be made available on the basis of two multi-annual allocations covering 4 and 3 years respectively to ensure stability and predictability. As these funds are coming from the respective external cooperation instruments, they will be made available through implementing acts which will be subject to the comitology procedure specified in the respective external cooperation instruments. However, once the funds are made available to complement the budget allocated to the Erasmus for All programme, all the rules and provisions of the latter will apply to this funding.

These funds will remain Heading 4 funds and the allocations should reflect the EU external action priorities (including development objectives as appropriate) in line with the identified needs and priorities of the countries concerned and respect the geographical origin of the funds. They can be adjusted in case of major unforeseen circumstances or important political changes to reflect major shifts in policy priorities.

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