Brexit could harm EU student exchange deal

Education experts have warned that Britain leaving the EU could have serious implications for students wanting to benefit from the Erasmus student exchange programme.

Since its inception in 1987, more than 200,000 students from EU member states have chosen to study abroad through Erasmus, which provides foreign exchange options for students from within the European Union. A number of British universities are currently signed up to the programme, including the University of Manchester, the University of Durham and the University of Nottingham.

However, according to Helen Drake, Europe expert and chair of the UACES (University Association of Contemporary European Studies), “British universities could experience an unprecedented fall in overseas student recruitment, with many incoming Erasmus students not turning up and outgoing students having their places withdrawn.”

Meanwhile, Universities UK, the major voice for universities in Britain, revealed there is “great uncertainty and an exit would obviously lead to lengthy negotiations.”

Through the Erasmus programme, students can go abroad for 3 to 12 months (including a complementary traineeship period, if planned). The same student may receive grants for studying or being trained abroad totalling up to 12 months’ maximum per each cycle of study,

Over 4,000 students throughout the EU area was involved in the programme at any one time.

Article by David Fuller