“Erasmus+ is one of the most successful programmes of the European Union. What started as a student mobility programme in 1987 has grown and enriched the lives of more than 9 million direct participants, not to mention the indirect impact it has had on so many others”, said Gianluca Vannini, Acting Head of Operation Section for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross Border Cooperation of EU Delegation to BiH, today during the National Erasmus+ Information Day in BiH.
The event was organised in order to promote opportunities within the Erasmus+ programme, with a special emphasis on presentation of the new Calls for Proposals in the area of higher education, including capacity building for higher education, international credit mobility, joint master degrees, Jean Monnet activities, and other relevant opportunities in the area of higher education.
“We want to create more opportunities for youth to benefit from this programme, so the EU additionally proposed to double its Erasmus budget to 30 billion EUR for the period 2021-2027,” Vannini added.
Speakers concluded that the funding opportunities under Erasmus+ are substantial and it must be ensured that they are used in the best possible way. The event was attended by Gulia Moro, representative of the Education, Culture and Audiovisual Executive Agency (EACEA), who presented the novelties of the Erasmus+ call for proposals for 2019, including special conditions related to cooperation with institutions from the United Kingdom, as well as Jean Monnet actions.
The event presented the key actions of the Erasmus+ programme for different beneficiaries, including higher education institutions, students, relevant ministries and other interested parties. Suad Muhibić, Head of the National Erasmus+ Office in BiH, highlighted that there are currently over 300 projects of international mobility being implemented, “BiH is actively participating in the programme, we have implemented over 30 capacity building projects, which are important because they enable HEI possibilities to modernize and improve their curricula and governing structures, as well better connecting with the real sector and all relevant subjects,“ said Muhibić.
In order to enable networking and exchange of ideas for possible cooperation for applying for new available actions within Erasmus+, the event was attended by representatives of higher education institutions from Spain and Lithuania. “The Spanish Delegation, comprised of 14 HEI, came here to liaise with BiH institutions in order to improve cooperation within the Erasmus+ framework and support the efforts of the European Union in promoting the programme,” noted Loreta Paulskaite from Spanish National Agency in charge of the Erasmus+ programme.
Erasmus+ is the European Union programme for education, training, youth and sport. Erasmus+ programme runs from 2014-2020 and replaces current funding programmes run by the European Commission in the area of education, training, youth and sport, including the Lifelong Learning Programme (Erasmus, Comenius, Leonardo, Grundtvig and Transversal), Youth in Action, and other international programmes including Jean Monnet and Erasmus Mundus.
