Higher education institutions in Serbia can now directly exchange students and academic staff with the countries in the European Union and beyond, through EU Erasmus+ Programme. Funding for Serbian individuals have multiplied, with the great attention paid to balanced number of former and future alumni.
Due to funding secured by the European Union as of 2015, the possibility for higher education exchanges within Erasmus Programme has opened up for the Western Balkans countries.
Student and teacher exchanges funded through Erasmus+ Programme resemble largely to previous, nearly three decades long exchanges within EU Erasmus Programme among higher education institutions across the EU, which have helped over three million students in Europe to experience student exchange.
European Union has allocated more than EUR22 million for Erasmus+ projects within 2015 call for applications to fund academic exchange with the Western Balkans countries.
This remarkable budget multiplied the number of agreements signed between higher education institutions in the Western Balkans and their counterparts in countries engaged in the exchange programme. This allows more possibilities for student and teacher exchanges than ever before.
Students and teachers from Serbia can now stay in EU countries, as well as Lichtenstein, Iceland, Norway, Turkey and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Also, students and teachers from the aforementioned countries can visit the region of Western Balkans.
60% per cent of nearly 1,9000 exchanges which have been approved to Serbia within 2015 call for applications account for student exchanges, whereas 40 per cent of scholarships are aimed for academic staff. This exceeds the total number of scholarships granted during the six years of Erasmus Mundus Programme.
Previous Erasmus Programme, now Erasmus+, contributed to the norm of valuing international experience (a semester spent in other country, academic staff exchange) as a tool to strengthen the quality of higher education. At the same time, the exchange period also leaves a strong imprint on skills and employability of future graduates, strengthens foreign languages skills and getting around in multicultural environment.
The EU has already funded academic staff exchanges between EU countries and Serbia, in the period from 2008-2013, via Erasmus Mundus Programme. These exchanges mostly included networking among universities in the Western Balkans and those in the EU. Serbian universities have made more than 1,200 student and teacher exchanges in this period with the EU countries. The same period included visits of over 400 students and teachers from European Union to Serbian universities.
It is worth mentioning that Erasmus+ Programme enhances a more balanced ratio of former and future alumni. Within the first call for applications, this ratio is 60:40 in favour of outgoing mobility.
For more information on student exchanges, visit Tempus Foundation web-site: http://erasmusplus.rs/stipendije/otvoreni-pozivi/
