Record number of UK students study or work in Europe
15 September 2011
The British Council announced today that in 2010/11 the number of UK students participating in the Erasmus programme was the highest it has been since the programme was launched in 1987.
Erasmus is a European Union programme that enables higher education students to work or study abroad as part of their degree. It also enables staff at higher education institutions to teach or train for short secondments in another European county.
Analysis undertaken by the British Council, which manages the programme in the UK, shows that 12,873 students took part in 2010/11, beating the record set back in 1994, when the numbers peaked at 11,988.
"This is a fantastic achievement for the programme and UK students. UK and international employers are increasingly telling us that they value graduates with the sort of skills and experience that Erasmus can give. Taking part in Erasmus is a life-changing experience which can have a positive effect on students’ long-term career prospects. Not only does the programme provide financial assistance for students but the experience helps them to stand out in the job market and to get better degrees” commented David Hibler, Erasmus Programme Manager, British Council.
Encouraging students to go abroad as part of their studies has been at the heart of the European Union’s education programmes since the launch of the Erasmus Programme in 1987. Since then it has provided 2.5 million European students with the opportunity to go abroad and study at a Higher Education Institution or train in a company, making it the world’s most successful student mobility programme. Over 200,000 UK students have now taken part in the programme.
For many years there was a persistent decline in the number of UK Erasmus students. However this is the fifth successive annual increase in UK participation rates and clearly shows the downward trend has been reversed. It indicates that UK students are increasingly looking to overseas experience as a means of improving their career prospects and recognising the benefits it can bring to their CV and their future careers.
Notes to editors
The Erasmus programme is the higher education action of the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning programme 2007-2013. It is the European Commission’s flagship mobility programme that enables students and staff in higher education to study or work in another European country. It involves student and staff mobility, the introduction and development of the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and transnational projects.
The British Council, as the National Agency in the UK has managed the programme since 2007. Its role is to administer and disburse funds to institutions and promote the programme within the UK. Over 2.5 million students from Europe have taken part in the programme since its launch in 1987 (over 200,000 from the UK). To see the latest Erasmus statistics, please go to www.britishcouncil.org/erasmus-facts-and-figures.htm
For more information visit: www.britishcouncil.org/erasmus
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide. We work in over 100 countries in the arts, education and English and in 2010/11 we engaged face to face with 30 million people and reached 578 million. We have 6,800 staff worldwide. Our total turnover in 2010/11 was £693 million, of which our grant-in-aid from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was £190 million. The remainder was generated through trading activities such as English language teaching. For every £1 of taxpayer money invested we earn £2.65 in additional income. For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.org.
