an introduction to erasmus+

An introduction to Erasmus+

This presentation is all about:• Giving you an overview of Erasmus+ for

the UK• Covering opportunities for all sectors of

education and training, youth and sport• Introducing you to the UK National Agency

and the support we can offer you

Overview of Erasmus+• What it is, what it does, who it’s for• What funding is available for the UK

What can I do?• Study, train, volunteer abroad• Improve education, training, youth and

sport practice and policy

Next steps

Contents

Overview of Erasmus+

Erasmus+ is for…

Adult education

Youth

Sport

Higher education

Vocational education and

training

Schools

BenefitsIndividuals• Personal and

professional development

• Increased skills and employability

• Broaden cultural horizons

• Boost confidence• Develop language

skills

Organisations• Training and career

development for staff• Better opportunities

for engaging learners• Share and discover

good practice• Improve provision

Erasmus+ 2014 - 2020The programme is structured around five Actions

Key Action 1

Key Action 2

Key Action 3

Jean Monnet Activities

Sport

There are two methods of management…

Centralised

Decentralised

…and three types of decentralised project

Key Action 1: Mobility of

learners and staff

Key Action 2: Strategic

partnerships

Key Action 3: Youth

structured dialogue

Erasmus+ budget: €14.7 billion

Programme managementOverall programme management:

European Commission

Centralised activities

European Agency:Education and Culture

Executive Agency

Decentralised activities

UK National Authority:Department for Business,

Innovation and Skills

UK National Agency: British Council and Ecorys

UK

• Partnership between the British Council and Ecorys UK

• Integrated approach to promotion and management of the programme

• Clear split of responsibilities by field and project type

UK National Agency

UK National Agency

• Higher education• Schools• Youth Key Action 1

British Council

• Vocational education and training

• Adult education• Youth Key Actions 2 and 3

Ecorys UK

Key Actions – decentralised activities

Key Action 1: Mobility of learners and staff

Key Action 2: Strategic Partnerships

Key Action 3: Youth Structured Dialogue

• Activities are aimed at education, training and youth

• Specific types of projects are funded, all designed to: – improve the quality of provision– provide training opportunities for those

working in education and training, youth and sport

– give learners of all kinds opportunities through transnational activities and co-operation

Key Actions – decentralised activities

• Sport is mainly a centralised action for grassroots organisations

• Projects using sport in the context of education and training or youth activities e.g. placements for sport apprentices or community sport projects for young people, may be funded under Key Action 1 and Key Action 2.

Sport

• Programme is open to organisations active in education, training, youth and sport

• Applications from individuals are not allowed

• Some youth projects allow informal groups of young people to apply

Who can take part?

• Programme Countries can participate in all activities

• Partner Countries can also participate but only in certain activities

• Full list of different categories of countries and any restrictions on participation is in the Programme Guide

Which countries can participate?

Programme countriesMember States of the European Union

Belgium Greece Lithuania Portugal

Bulgaria Spain Luxembourg Romania

Czech Republic France Hungary Slovenia

Denmark Croatia Malta Slovakia

Germany Italy Netherlands Finland

Estonia Cyprus Austria Sweden

Ireland Latvia Poland United Kingdom

Non EU Programme Countries

former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Iceland Norway

Liechtenstein Turkey

October 2014 European Commission published 2015 Call for Proposal confirming deadlines on 7 OctoberEuropean Commission published 2015 Programme Guide containing detailed application information on 7 October

From November 2014

Draft application forms published followed by ‘live’ eFormsWe will publish detailed guidance and run webinars to support applicants

February 2015 onwards

Application deadlines – one per year per Key Action except for youth which has multiple deadlines

2015 application timetable

Key Action Activity Field Deadline(s)Key Action 1: Mobility of individuals

Mobility of learners and staff

Higher education, vocational education and training, schools, adult education

4 March 2015

Youth 4 February 2015

30 April 2015

1 October 2015

2015 decentralised deadlines

Key Action Activity Field Deadline(s)Key Action 2: Co-operation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Strategic Partnerships

Higher education, vocational education and training, schools, adult education (including any applications covering more than one field)

30 April 2015


30 April 2015

1 October 2015


Key Action Activity Field Deadline(s)

Key Action 3: Support for policy reform

Structured Dialogue


30 April 2015

1 October 2015


Study, train, volunteer abroad

Study, train, volunteer abroadThree types of decentralised project

Key Action 1

Key Action 2

Key Action 3

Key Action 1: Mobility

Largest part of the programme with just under 75% of UK budget allocated; all fields can apply

Organisations can apply for funding to offer opportunities to:• Learners including

– young people and students– apprentices– volunteers

• Staff including– teachers and trainers– youth leaders– volunteers– non-teaching staff

Funding for mobility

Learner mobility

• Erasmus+ offers students in higher education the opportunity to study abroad in Europe as part of their degree

• Students from all subject areas can participate, at any time during their degree (except during the first year)

• Details will depend on the structure of the degree and the arrangements the higher education institution has with its partners

Study abroad

• Higher education students from all subject areas can carry out an Erasmus+ traineeship abroad in a European enterprise

• Students from vocational education and training (VET), schools and other training providers can carry out a traineeship abroad in a company, workplace (public organisation, NGO etc.) or in a VET school with periods of work-based learning in a company

Work abroad

• Young people aged between 17-30 and living in the UK can take part in volunteering opportunities through the European Voluntary Service (EVS) gaining valuable international experience.

Volunteer abroad

• Young people aged 13-30 can get involved in a short transnational activity with their peers – the group carries out a work programme (a mix of workshops, exercises, debates, role-plays, simulations, outdoor activities etc.) designed and prepared by them before the exchange.

Youth exchanges

Field Learner mobility Duration

Higher education • Study period• Traineeship

• 3 to 12 months• 2 to 12 months

Vocational education and training

• Traineeship • 2 weeks to 12 months

Schools • Not applicable • Not applicable

Adult education • Not applicable • Not applicable

Youth • Youth exchanges• European Voluntary

Service

• 5 to 21 days• 2 to 12 months

Staff mobility

• Staff can deliver teaching or training.• Staff, including non-teaching staff, can

take part in training and related activities themselves.

• Youth workers can undertake additional professional development activities.

Teach or train abroad

Field Staff mobility Duration

Higher education • Delivering teaching• Training/job

shadowing/observation

• 2 days to 2 months• 2 days to 2 months


• Delivering teaching/training

• Work placement/job shadowing/observation


Schools • Delivering teaching• Training courses/job

shadowing/observation


Adult education • Delivering teaching/training

• Training courses/job shadowing/observation


Youth • Training courses• Networking events• Job shadowing/

observation

• 2 days to 2 months• 2 days to 2 months• 2 days to 2 months

• General principles are the same across all mobility projects

• There are important differences depending on your target group:– Overall project duration– Type of mobility activities and their duration– Funding– Pre-qualification

How does it work?

• Organisations make a funding application to send participants on mobility activities abroad

• Projects can last 1 or 2 years for most fields – different durations for youth projects

• Mobility activities within a project can last from 2 days to 12 months depending on the field and type of activity

How does it work?

• Financial support varies by field and participant type but could cover:– travel and subsistence– project management– linguistic support– course fees– additional funding for participants with specific

needs

How does it work?

Activity Field Deadlines Project start dates

Mobility of learners and staff

Higher education, vocational education and training, schools, adult education

4 March 2015 1 June 2015


30 April 2015

1 October 2015

1 May – 30 Sept 2015

1 Aug – 31 Dec 2015

1 Jan – 31 May 2016

Mobility deadlines

Improve practice and policy

Improve practice

Improve practiceThree types of decentralised project

Key Action 1

Key Action 2

Key Action 3

Key Action 2: Partnerships

Just under 25% of UK budget allocated; all fields can apply

• Organisations can work together in order to address policy objectives, challenges and needs

• Priority topics for 2015 are in the Programme Guide – your application must address at least one!

• Projects can focus on one field alone or work on a cross-field basis

• Flexibility in terms of size and scale of project and funding

Funding for strategic partnerships

Broad range of activities is possible around:• exchange of practices• development, testing and roll out of innovative

practices• improving provision for learners • positive impact on the organisations involved

Activities

Activities• Curriculum/course

development• Learning, teaching,

training, youth work methods, approaches and tools

• Collaboration and peer-learning

• Capacity building and networking

• Information, advice and guidance activities

• Surveys, evidence gathering, case studies

• Development of standards and profiles

• Improvement of qualification frameworks

• Teaching, training and learning activities

• Training, teaching or learning activities of individuals can take place within a project

• Need to be explicitly linked to project’s aims and objectives

• Can cover staff, youth workers and learners

• Allowed activities are different for each field

Mobility within strategic partnerships

Field Staff Duration Learners Duration

Higher education

• Staff training events

• Teaching/

training

• 5 days to 2 months

• 2 to 12 months

• Intensive study programmes

• Blended mobility





• Teaching/

training


• 2 to 12 months



Schools • Staff training events

• Teaching/

training


• 2 to 12 months


• Joint project work of groups of pupils

• Study mobility of pupils



• 2 to 12 months

Field Staff Duration Learners Duration

Adult education


• Teaching/training


• 2 to 12 months



Youth • Staff training events

• Youth worker work placements


• 2 to 12 months



• Organisations need to be part of a partnership of organisations from different countries

• Minimum size is 2 or 3 partners in total depending on the field

• One organisation applies for funding in their country on behalf of the whole partnership

How does it work?

• Funding is up to a maximum of €150,000 per year (€12,500 euro per month for youth projects) and each project assembles its budget from a ‘menu’ of cost items

• Projects in all fields (including cross-field projects) except youth are 24 or 36 months in duration

• Youth-only projects can last from 6 to 36 months

How does it work?

• There is financial support for:– project management – project meetings– products– events– travel and subsistence– linguistic support– additional funding for participants with specific

needs– other costs

How does it work?

Activity Field Deadlines Project start dates

Strategic partnerships

Higher education, vocational education and training, schools, adult education (including cross-field applications)

30 April 2015 1 Sept – 31 Dec 2015


30 April 2015

1 October 2015

1 Jun – 30 Sept 2015

1 Sept – 31 Dec 2015

1 Jan – 31 May 2016

Partnerships deadlines

Improve policy

Improve policyThree types of decentralised project

Key Action 1

Key Action 2

Key Action 3

Key Action 3: Structured dialogue

Less than 1% of UK budget allocated; for the youth field only

• Organisations can bring young people and decision-makers together to improve youth policy

• Activities aim at promoting the active participation of young people in democratic life and enabling young people to make their voices heard

Funding for structured dialogue

• National and transnational seminars on youth issues and policy themes

• Consultations with young people• Meetings and events bringing young

people and decision-makers/policy experts together

• Events simulating the functioning of democratic institutions

Activities

• Organisations can apply for funding for national or transnational meetings

• Young people must be involved in all stages of the project

• Emphasis on non-formal learning principles and practices

How does it work?

• Projects can last 3 to 24 months• Funding is up to a maximum of €50,000

and covers:– Travel– Project management– Funding for specific needs– Other costs including dissemination, costs of

online consultations, visa costs

How does it work?

Activity Field Deadlines Project start datesStructured dialogue


30 April 2015

1 October 2015

1 May – 30 Sept 2015

1 Aug – 31 Dec 2015

1 Jan – 31 May 2016

Structured dialogue deadlines

Next steps

• Stay informed – sign up to our news services for regular news and important alerts

• Learn more – consult our website and join our webinars from November onwards

• Let us help – contact our helplines for more information or to have a chat about your ideas

Next steps

• Network of experts across the UK• Offering advice and personalised guidance on

implementing European Credit Transfer System for VET• www.ecvetexperts.org.uk

ECVET experts

• Free online community for schools in Europe • Find partners and collaborate on projects• www.britishcouncil.org/etwinningeTwinning

• New online tool for adult learning• Community of adult learning professionals• http://ec.europa.eu/epale/enEPALE

Other helpful resources

For general enquiries you can contact either the British Council or Ecorys UK as follows:British CouncilT: 0161 957 7755 [email protected] UKT: 0845 199 2929 [email protected]

Contact us

Erasmus+ is the European Union programme for education, training, youth and sport.The Erasmus+ UK National Agency is a partnership between the British Council and Ecorys UK.

Find us online

www.erasmusplus.org.uk

@erasmusplusuk

www.facebook.co.uk/ukerasmusplus

http://www.erasmusplus.org.uk/