The Turing scheme is a student exchange programme established by the United Kingdom Department for Education in 2021 as a replacement for the European Union Erasmus+ Programme, following Brexit. The scheme provides funding to UK organisations to unlock life-changing experiences across the world for their pupils, students and learners. Schools, colleges and higher education providers apply for funding for projects on behalf of their pupils, students and learners.
For both the Erasmus+ and The Turing Scheme, 100% funding of living costs is available for students with special educational needs and disabilities. Funding for higher education students works similarly to Erasmus+. The funding for further and vocational education students is actually better under The Turing scheme.
In 2021, Capita was appointed by the Government to promote and administer The Turing Scheme. Earlier this year, Capita supported 316 education providers through a competitive application process so their students could participate in the 2022-23 scheme. Students are now set to receive a combined £105m worth of grants over the coming year to fund their Turing placements.
According to Capita, a consulting, transformation and digital services business, a total of 38,000 students from 130 universities, 116 further education providers and 70 schools, will visit over 150 destinations around the world thanks to the scheme. 52% of the placements are for disadvantaged students – up from 48% last year. Destinations where students can choose to work, or study include the USA, Japan, Canada, Thailand and South Africa.
Capita is using its significant digital grants management, complex programmes and education expertise to deliver grants to tens of thousands of students.
The Department for Education (DfE) has reconfirmed that grant rates will be the same level as the first year and that additional support will also remain in place for applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds. This will enable them to fund the costs of travel, passports and visas.
The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is Capita’s principal partner and leads on the assessment of applications and supports with monitoring and evaluation, building on decades of expert knowledge and experience in delivering major international mobility schemes.