Erasmus Programme

Erasmus Programme … Travel broadens the mind and education fills it, so what better way to expand your horizons than to travel abroad as part of your education. 

This is the idea behind the Erasmus Programme, named after the much-travelled Renaissance Scholar Erasmus of Rotterdam, who brought his wisdom to many universities across Europe.

27 years ago the Commission proposed this scheme to fund the exchange of students between Universities and Institutes of Technology across Europe.

To date, over 3 million students have taken part in what is a very successful programme. Movies have been made about it and it has gone a long way to fostering a European identity, creating friendships across borders and improving language skills.

It also teaches life lessons, taking students out of their comfort zones and allowing them to fend for themselves in a foreign land, a great skill especially in our globalised economy.

I encourage all students to look into doing an Erasmus exchange. The common misconception is that it is reserved for language students, or that if you don’t speak the language of the country you wish to travel to, you can’t study there.

In fact nearly every university in the EU offers an extensive range of modules in English so I would encourage undergraduate students to consider travel to broaden their educational horizons.