Erasmus is no longer around.

One, two semesters at a foreign university, including parties, flirts and adventure - what could be better? In many countries, the enthusiasm fades, Europe's students often lack time and money. After 20 successful years schwächelt the Erasmus exchange program.

 

Rebekka Manos, 25, visited for five months, the Free University of Brussels. "I wanted to improve my language skills," says the marketing student from Hanover. The Erasmus program was offered because it was red tape, no required tests, and because they do not pay tuition fees in Brussels do.

Martin Krönke
Studying Abroad: Ideal for new friendships

Nevertheless, money is tight, Manos receives 160 euros per month. "This is a nice Zubrot, but not enough to cover living expenses." Without
savings would be her own study abroad is not possible. It was the financial support of the Erasmus students last increased significantly. After rising by more than half in four years, the scholarship on average 192 Euro per month, as the European Commission calculated.

Nevertheless, education is the European Erasmus program after a 20-year success story in the crisis. The
Enthusiasm for academic Auslandsaufenthalt recently in many countries waned. The number of German Erasmus students has stagnated, in Finland, Spain or Greece chose young graduates less than before to visit a partner university abroad.

Students under increasing time pressure

There are many reasons, most often missing, but the students time and money. From the EU's Lifelong Learning Erasmus receives each year 450 million euros. The amount of the scholarship is not decided in Brussels, but in the 31 agencies Erasmus countries (the 27 EU members plus Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Turkey).

The MEPs of the Green Trüpel Helga calls for more financial support to member countries: "It does not work if you just say: This is done already in Brussels." The aim should be that every student has the opportunity to study abroad.

Rebekka Manos hopes now on the so-called
International student loans. Whether it is government support in the amount of several hundred dollars a month gets, she knows but just before the end of semester is still not.

The Evelina Michta Polin, 22, receives a financial support from Erasmus of 250 euros per month. That's enough at least for rent in Brussels. "I'm totally fine and can even be something rumreisen," she says. The student of biotechnology from Gdansk is enthusiastic about the life abroad, but they would not repeat with Erasmus students. "I do not know if I've learned something, which I do not even have learned in Poland." They have anxiety, study time to waste.

Bachelor is a boomerang

Thus, the new learning with
Bachelor's and Master's degrees for Erasmus to boomerang. Only just had the desire for international mobility, after a flying change of students across countries the reason for this pan-European delivery reform.

But now, many students from a narrow time frame of its new study plan unsettle. The Erasmus semester remains
on the route. "People have less courage, such an adventure to tackle," says the Commissioner of Education spokesman John MacDonald.

THE ERASMUS PROGRAM THE EU

The idea

At a denominator is about foreign experience. Young people should be beyond the look at the new University of Languages speak, Land & People in love, culture vacuum, by an extra portion of "soft skills" to take home. Ideally, the Erasmus Student goes low in continuing claims, returns full of impressions back home.

History

In the first higher education 1987/88 is still spent 649 German students spend part of their study with the Erasmus program abroad. 2006 there were already over 23,000. Overall promoted in 20 years about 1.5 million students from 31 countries in Europe. It lies at the head of Germany in Europe, Spain and France: Nearly 240,000 German students abroad through Erasmus lived, loved, ate, drank. And of course, also studied.

The German mobile

The "engine of mobility of students" runs and runs and runs: The Higher Education Program of the European Union, named after the Dutch philologists and philosophers Erasmus of Rotterdam (1465-1536), this year celebrates the 20th Birthday. Since 1987 students from all EU countries, one or two semesters at universities abroad to study. As a national agency is the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is responsible for the award of mobility grants.

The Future

In 2006, the time of the EU's Socrates and Leonardo ended. They were replaced by the new EU umbrella program "Lifelong Learning". The total budget from 2007 to 2013 includes 6.9 billion euros, the lion's share of 3.1 billion is accounted for by Erasmus. Thus, the number of Erasmus students by 2012 to three million doubled. Currently, the scholarship money rather character - for German students are on average 121 euro per month. The amount will now be gradually reduced to around 200 euros per month to be increased.

The latest statistics counted 160,000 Erasmus students in the academic year 2006/07, it had up to 200,000 can get a scholarship. "We have a slowing of growth observed," admits MacDonald A. Since 2001, the number of participants each year by around 10,000, but as it was the 5000 more than before. That there is still a growth of three percent was, above all in the countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

Proposal from France: Humboldt instead Erasmus

In the young EU member countries rose, the number of Erasmus students often by more than ten percent. The Commission argues that while on their gap with other countries. Nevertheless, to examine whether all other universities are also enough to advertise the program, because that they are under the Charter of the participating institutions committed. If this is not the case, some might also be excluded. Currently, nearly 90 percent of all universities in Europe with Erasmus.

Since 1987, almost two million people in the Erasmus Program. Despite the crisis, the Commission hopes to three million by 2012. In the French newspaper "La Croix" doubted the formation of expert Philippe Perchoc but the future viability of Erasmus. He claimed that more teachers abroad to teach and students for study abroad enthusiasm.

The program should read Humboldt suggested Perchoc before - named after Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt, the two German universal scholar of the 19th Century. At that time, students saw their teachers, but still often seen as role model to her. Today it is rather the exception.