Brussels, 30/04/2007 (Agence Europe) - The EU university exchange programme 'Erasmus' is going from strength to strength. Under Erasmus, students can spend from three to twelve months studying in a university or higher exchange institution in another participating country. It also aids lecturers, who usually provide short courses as part of official courses in the partner university.
For academic year 2005-2006, the total number of students taking part in exchanges under Erasmus rose 12% to 154,553, with the total number of lecturers on exchange also rising 12% to 23,462. Spain is the most favoured destination with 26,629 students, followed by France (21,424), Germany (17,886) and the United Kingdom (16,365).
The success is shown by the results for the ten new member states that joined the EU in May 2004. In countries of central and Eastern Europe, growth of students and lecturers participating in exchanges is around 20%. Candidate country Turkey is now participating in the programme for the second year and is now a full participant. Some 2,852 Turkish students in 2005-2006 (150% more than the year before) were able to study in one of the 30 participating countries, and 828 foreign students (a 70% rise) studied in Turkey.
Commenting on the results, EU Education Commissioner Jan Figel said the published figures confirmed the ever growing success of Erasmus, which is an encouragement to do more for the mobility of students and exchanges. (gc)