The new app allows Erasmus+ students to select their study destination abroad on their phone, sign the necessary documents and discover useful tips about the place they’re visiting, including valuable information from their peers.
The app helps to clear up several issues with the EU’s exchange programme, such as lack of access to the right information, lengthy procedures, and confusing timelines, while at the same time fostering the idea of an Erasmus+ generation of students helping other students.
Besides the administrative part, the community dimension of the app is extremely important and fundamental for the whole process. Students will be able to join activities read about experiences from their peers, and also find any advice that they need in order to start their Erasmus+ journey.
Looking forward, EU Youth Coordinator Biliana Sirakova said the app will have the “potential to enhance democracy, enable digital active citizenship, and youth participation” by connecting young people to each other and the EU policy makers in the future.
Efforts to take the Erasmus+ experience online have already begun for the higher education institutions that host Erasmus+ students. With more than 4,000 universities participating in a project, it will allow them to exchange student data securely and efficiently.
The drive to connect higher education institutions hosting students is part of a wider EU Commission push for more integration between EU countries, supposed to create a genuine European space of learning by 2025.
Students going abroad will also be able to get their European Student Card through the app, which unlocks access to services, museums, cultural activities, and special offers.
What the EU Commission wants is a type of European card for all students in Europe. It hopes that by introducing a digital card for Erasmus+ students, it will create a “critical mass within universities” to move on, starting to resolve the technical difficulties of creating an EU-wide system.
Alternative forms of education and training have recently become a policy priority in Brussels, seen as a way to increase the reach of EU-funded mobility programmes and make them more inclusive.
The increased importance of VET is also reflected in the budget allocated to mobility programmes. Up to 2027, of the €20.4 billion reserved for study abroad experiences, at least 21.5% is earmarked for VET, that’s a 4.5% increase from the last budgetary period.
The app will give you even better assistance, before, during and after your next Erasmus+ mobility. If you want further information on the app, visit this website: erasmusapp.eu.