Celebrating 9 million participants

Erasmus - Higher Education

Poland, 2016

When Antoine went to Warsaw, he did not expect to see such a perfect example of a mix of culture. During his Erasmus+ programme, he made lifelong friends and now knows that there is an open door for him in most European countries. Having adapted to a new environment, culture and language, Antoine feels like he has grown as a person and feels more and more grateful for the opportunities that Europe brings. He recommends that anyone should take advantage of this ‘amazing, unexpected experience’.

Erasmus – Sport

Germany, 2012

For Paralympian Mihovil, a placement at the headquarters of the International Paralympic Committee was an incredible experience. After 4 Paralympic medals, 4 European and World Champion titles for swimming under his belt, Mihovil then had the privilege of seeing what happens behind the scenes of the biggest non-profit organisation in the Paralympic movement. His advice to potential Erasmus students: follow your dream, it will help you both in your private and professional life.

School Education - eTwinning

17 countries, 2008

English and French teacher, Murièle, has developed 33 successful, original eTwinning projects with 17 countries and has won national and European prizes. She has also coordinated Vocational Education and Training projects for her students for 6 years. Working collaboratively has motivated her students: they are more open to the world, more curious and they have improved their language and ICT skills. Murièle is convinced that sharing ideas and working with European colleagues has enriched her professional and personal life. Her school is also a European Parliament Ambassador school.

Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Germany, Hungary, Romania and Belgium, 2007- present

Serap is an EU projects writer for the Turkish government, applying for funds to assist local initiatives. She participated in 4 Erasmus programmes as a student in Germany, a trainee in Belgium and Romania and a youth leader in Hungary. She organised numerous youth exchanges and training courses on EU youth programmes. Besides being a beneficiary, she also worked as a youth worker and Erasmus+ Vice Institutional Coordinator in a university. In Germany, she discovered non-formal education methods such as interactive teaching where students are encouraged to express themselves. Growing up alone, she describes the Programme as a regenerative energy and a supportive bough in her life. She thinks Erasmus breaks prejudices and reaches out well to people in difficult economic situations.

Vocational Education and Training (VET)

Austria, 2004

Mikko is the 2015 winner of reality TV show, Best bakery in Finland. During an Erasmus+ traineeship in Austria’s bakeries in Pinkafield, Mikko not only boosted his English, but learnt interesting baking techniques and enlarged his professional network. So it is no wonder that Mikko is now the owner of his own bakery and 2 cafés in Turku, Finland. Mikko's most extraordinary experience was working with Rinfhoffer Bakery, where he learnt a whole new skillset through studying local products and their production processes. Mikko's tip for Erasmus+ trainees: take full advantage of the stay abroad and apply their skills to various settings!

Founder and CEO of Ticinum Aerospace

Higher Education – United Kingdom, 2010

‘Those who participate in Erasmus+ enter the business market where they see the theory they learned at university applied in practice.’

After 5 months of Erasmus+ experience during his graduate studies in Pavia, Gianni has a career path in sight. Working at a global risk and disaster management consultancy in Ashtead during his Erasmus+, he learnt tools that assess the risk of natural hazards by means of space-borne Earth observation data. This was the ‘starting point’ for him to launch his own company, after completing a PhD and going on to invent new state-of-the art techniques in geospatial data analysis. The Erasmus+ experience helped Gianni to gain a clear view on his carrier aspirations: 'if I hadn't done Erasmus I would still be confused about what to do next ... this experience gave me a hint about what I want to do for the next 10-20 years … After my experience I went back to Italy and started to focus more in-depth on catastrophe analysis based on satellite data. I made a lot of new connections through networking and today I am leading a company in this field.’

Other than career path and technical skills, Gianni perfected his presentation and language skills, and opened his mind to other cultures and work practices which he later put in practice in Italy and Brazil - all thanks to his Erasmus+ experience.

As an employer today, Gianni is an advocate for young people going abroad and says that those who have travelled are more prone to learn new things, to accept different and challenging situations and to bring forward new ideas: ‘if you have a lot of experiences you can see much further than others … you have more data to compare and you can take better decisions based on your experiences.’

His company, Ticinum Aerospace, is currently active in satellite data analysis for risk assessment, and has been awarded a gold medal and a certificate as the ‘most innovative company’ by the province of Pavia in Italy.

Restorative craftsman, designer and media personality

Italy, 1997

'Cultural exchange is very important, to see how things are done in other parts of the world. My restoration business is now full of different flavours and facets. It’s about variety, and I think variety is great!'

Creativity, a spirit of adventure and a desire to learn and share new skills have made Einar a household name in his native Norway. As a participant on the popular TV home makeover show ‘Tid for hjem’, Einar is part of a team that renovates and redesigns houses, and he is known to be a keen advocate of traditional handicrafts. He also runs his own design company.

Einar believes that variety is the spice of life. Some of this joie de vivre comes from his experience in Venice, where he spent three months studying the conservation of wall paintings as part of a Leonardo Da Vinci exchange programme (former Erasmus+ programme in the field of vocational and education training). This experience not only enabled him to learn traditional Italian restorative techniques, completely new to him but to also meet inspiring crafts people from all over Europe who had come to Venice to study.

The experience of living and working in an ancient city that is itself undergoing constant restoration was motivating, and feeds into Einar’s work today. Sometimes when he is working on a stucco lustro, or a piece of restoration, he says, memories of Venice come flooding back. One thing Einar believes is ‘we definitely need to learn more from each other'. This is one of the reasons he likes variation in his life and career. He believes that 'there is always something that can be exchanged in the cultural sphere.’

Actress

Germany, 2005-06

'It’s important to connect with other people and communities, to play together and not against each other.'

Eva is a theatre and film actress who recently starred in a film which premiered in Vienna in 2016. Her Erasmus experience at the Hannover University of Drama, in Germany, made her more independent and open. She improved her German language and made contacts which led her to more acting roles.

Eva learnt a new way of singing while in Germany which she took back and applied on the home stage. The experience also made her more confident when cast in international roles and to work internationally. She uses techniques from both schools and can ‘work with other actors, directors, theatres and companies that are doing a great job, great art.’

In addition to taking people out of their comfort zone, Eva believes that taking advantage of the freedom to study, work and travel leads people to grow personally and better understand situations other people are living in. Her parents told her stories of living in a time where free movement was limited, so she values the freedom to choose where to live and work today, and to meet great people abroad. She believes people can grow personally through Erasmus+ and ‘better understand differences, connect and support each other much more’. An impact Erasmus+ has on people today is that ‘those in a good situation can support those in a less favourable situation.’

Erasmus – Higher Education

Germany, 2009

Tania grew up in the UK and Belgium. With Erasmus, she studied international business and German. The experience presented Tania with the opportunity to build an international network of contacts, and prompted new, entrepreneurial ideas. Today, Tania runs her own enterprise Tailored Business, a TV show which documents experiences of designing suits for individuals in Africa, and interviewing them about their own careers. Tania is an advocate for women entrepreneurs, and hopes that her TV show will inspire others to explore their own business talents. Tania also contributes to Elle magazine South Africa as a careers specialist.

Adult Education

Poland, 2013 - Present

Anna is an IT specialist, developing educational tools for people with intellectual disabilities as part of a number of Erasmus+ projects. Anna and her colleagues at the Polish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability build partnerships with therapists and psychologists across Europe to improve people’s employability, thus helping them live more fulfilling and meaningful lives. To Anna, Erasmus+ means breaking barriers using new technologies. Recently, she helped create a tailor-made computer lab and got to witness how this can help change people’s lives.

Adult Education

Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, 2015

Ruth represented Malta in a multi-country Erasmus+ project which promoted social inclusion. During the project, Ruth interviewed asylum seekers and refugees in Malta and was able to connect with people on a personal level through their stories. Ruth learnt a lot from her experience, and built lasting relationships with colleagues throughout Europe. Ruth's research was translated into seven European languages, and resulted in the production of a television documentary.

Youth in Action

Germany, 2002

Claude is a specialised educator at the Collectif Dadofonic Ligue HMC in Luxembourg, a professional group of performing artists with special needs. He volunteered at Cabuwazi, a Berlin-based association organising circus workshops for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Claude feels an Erasmus experience helps young people grow up and find out what jobs they really want to do. He met his soon-to-be wife during her Erasmus; they now have an ‘Erasmus baby’.

European Voluntary Service (EVS)

Estonia, Finland, Georgia, 2013

Michael is a youth worker and currently part of the National Youth Action Group in Ireland. He is a strong advocate of Erasmus+ programmes, having participated in an EVS exchange to Estonia in November 2013 and gone on to lead youth exchanges in Finland and Georgia. A member of the Irish Traveller ethnic group in Ireland, Michael believes that international exchanges help to remove prejudices and give participants opportunities they might otherwise not have known existed. He plans to study abroad next year, and his ultimate goal is to establish an NGO that helps disadvantaged youth to realise their potential.

International Cooperation

19 Partner countries, since 1990

Despite officially retiring recently, Nicolas remains committed to fostering excellence in the field of biomedical engineering and encouraging European research collaboration within Europe and beyond. As Professor Emeritus at Patras University in Greece, Nicolas continues to teach postgraduates, coordinate R&D activities and support new Erasmus+ programmes at the university. Nicolas was an early advocate of harmonising biomedical engineering curricula across Europe and beyond, and has seen first-hand the benefits to students, institutions and citizens in general of closer research collaboration in medical research. His current ambition is to strengthen synergies with universities in South America.

School Education

Czech Republic, 2008-present

Martina is an established eTwinning Erasmus+ ambassador, organising virtual exchanges with schools throughout Europe. In 2008, she took part in a Comenius project which explored the social impact of migration. She later ran a project combining language learning and ICT. In her school in Ostrava, Martina is currently running a programme for English and Spanish teachers, which involves short-term teacher exchanges and job shadowing. In 2011 and again in 2015, Martina was awarded the European Language Label for her work. Martina is a firm believer in eTwinning as it has helped her students experience other cultures, form their own opinions and identify as European citizens.

International Cooperation Project

10 countries, 2012-15

Are three of the many people involved in La MANCHE, a project promoting the modernisation of higher education in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. In addition to these countries, the consortium includes five EU Member States. The project has been instrumental in leading change for all countries involved.  By involving students in decision-making processes, the project generated innovative ways of thinking and new approaches to management. For the students involved, it also equipped them with valuable skills which improved their employability.