UK commits to funding Erasmus alternative

In a move that is sure to reassure the education sector, the UK government has announced a commitment to funding an Erasmus alternative should no agreement be reached on the country’s continued participation in the European Commission’s flagship mobility scheme from January 1, 2021. 

The announcement comes as part of the government’s 2020 spending review, which has seen the government allocate an unknown amount of funding to ‘prepare for a UK-wide domestic alternative to Erasmus’ when the UK leaves the European Union in 2021.

The cash-which forms a part of the Department of Education’s £2.9 billion allocation-has been earmarked for paying for a domestic alternative to Erasmus, in the event that the UK is no longer able to participate in the scheme. This will also allow the UK to fund outward global education mobilities.

The government has said it will announce further details in due course.

Responses to this announcement have been reasonably positive. Whilst Universities UK would prefer the UK to remain in the Erasmus scheme, its director Vivienne Stern publicly thanked the UK government for committing to fund opportunities for students to spend time abroad, during the current financial crisis.

Others such as Colin Riordan, the President and vice-chancellor of Cardiff University stated that the announcement shows the government had been paying attention to the sector’s requests. He also acknowledged  that there was still much to be cleared up as to what things would look like moving forward.

Of course, Universities UK has its own list of what it wants the ‘domestic substitute’ to include. This includes adequate funding to support growth for outward mobility, no gap in funding for staff and student mobility along with flexible mobility options and continued exchanges with existing partners in Europe. They also want to avoid heavy levels of administration and reporting.

The announcement has come at an intriguing time for the UK’s education sector, how things proceed from here will be fascinating to observe.