Programme also fosters the modernisation of European higher education through funding joint projects. These projects, which run from between one and three years, aim to stimulate policy reforms through transnational cooperation among higher education institutions and other relevant stakeholders across Europe. Applications are submitted once every calendar year. The available budget in 2013 was € 28.6 million, which is substantially higher than usual (around € 20 million a year).
Most of the 2013 funded projects were closely linked to the following EU higher education policy areas: developing mobility strategies and the removal of barriers to mobility in higher education, promoting employability and addressing the social dimension of higher education. It is important to note that some of these projects tackle more than one policy area.
Many of the projects funded under this part of the Erasmus Programme have led to key policy developments. For example, the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) was originally an Erasmus project, before becoming a major tool to foster mobility. ECTS allocates credit points for each part of a study programme, based on the student workload and specified learning outcomes. This simplifies the recognition of study abroad in the students’ home institution.
The number of applications has grown
year-on-year. Some 311 applications
were submitted in 2013 (up from
250 in 2012). Among these, 79 were
selected for funding, which represents, on average, a 25.4 % success rate which is higher than in the previous year (22.8 %).
Chart 75 shows the number of proposals received and approved each year since 2007. While the number of received applications has kept on growing, the available budget has remained fairly constant. This has led to a decrease in the proportion of applications selected from among those received – or success rate − from 2011 to 2013.
20 % 25 % 30 % 35 % 40 % 45 % 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Received 153 172 178 194 197 250 311 Approved 64 61 62 66 69 57 79 Success Rate 41.8 % 35.5 % 34.8 % 34.0 % 35.0 % 22.8 % 25.4 % Number of applications
Most applications (62 out of 79) were approved under the so-called ‘Multilateral Projects’, aiming at developing strategies to support the modernisation of higher education by promoting curricular, governance and funding reforms, to improve employability and the cooperation between higher education institutions and enterprises or address key issues such as excellence and innovation, learning mobility strategies and social inclusion in higher education.
Applications received as part of cooperation between higher education institutions and enterprises or with the aim of establishing Knowledge Alliances fostering innovation in higher education have experienced strong growth: 134 applications as compared to 67 the previous year, which represents a year-on-year increase of 100 %. These projects mainly focused on promoting creativity, competitiveness, entrepreneurial spirit and employability; the development of innovative practices; and improving quality and increasing student and staff mobility throughout Europe.
Eight applications were selected from the ‘Academic Networks’ proposals, designed to promote innovation in a specific discipline, set of disciplines, or in a multidisciplinary area, and requiring the participation of higher education institutions from all participating countries.
Finally, nine applications were approved from the ‘Accompanying Measures’ proposals. These are innovative projects with a clear relevance to the European Higher Education Modernisation Agenda and aiming to raise awareness among relevant target groups or the general public of the importance of European cooperation in the field of higher education.
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
MulƟlateral Networks Accompanying Measures Total selected
2007 50 8 6 64 2008 43 14 4 61 2009 43 13 6 62 2010 50 8 8 66 2011 54 8 7 69 2012 44 8 5 57 2013 62 8 9 79 Total 346 67 45 458
Table 3: Total grants for Cooperation Projects by type since 2007
Multilateral Projects Network Projects Accompanying Measures Total
2007 € 13 144 572 € 3 599 366 € 823 765 € 17 567 703 2008 € 10 609 550 € 7 483 751 € 456 562 € 18 549 863 2009 € 11 447 353 € 7 224 448 € 804 672 € 19 476 473 2010 € 13 978 239 € 4 369 405 € 1 092 169 € 19 439 813 2011 € 15 534 575 € 4 902 329 € 893 683 € 21 330 587 2012 € 14 448 504 € 4 865 785 € 575 794 € 19 890 082 2013 € 22 520 203 € 4 809 800 € 1 278 892 € 28 608 895 Total € 101 682 995 € 37 254 884 € 5 925 537 € 144 863 416
Table 3 shows the distribution of funding among the three project types since 2007.
In 2013, Finland submitted the highest number of proposals (40), followed by Belgium (36), Spain (33), the United Kingdom (32) and Italy (25). Belgium was the most successful country in terms of applications approved, with 15 selected. Chart 77 shows the number of times each country has been represented, either as coordinator or partner, in all applications submitted and selected since 2007.
200 400 600 800 1 000 1 200 1 400 BE BG CZ DK DE EE GR ES FR IE IT CY LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK IS LI NO TR HR CH Submitted 1 063 426 358 354 1 096 305 510 1 176 772 324 1 130 189 243 377 71 416 135 767 521 594 624 511 370 252 712 373 1 196 104 30 238 396 118 125 Selected 496 180 152 151 476 144 214 487 338 163 479 76 112 159 32 172 68 330 192 263 284 225 144 119 277 163 540 62 16 125 179 40 51
50 100 150 200 250 300 BE BG CZ DK DE EE GR ES FR IE IT CY LV LT LU HU MT NL AT PL PT RO SI SK FI SE UK IS LI NO TR HR CH Selected 82 5 2 3 32 2 16 40 17 5 40 1 1 1 2 3 0 52 15 5 15 7 8 4 34 4 57 0 0 4 0 0 1 Submitted 167 25 21 16 96 14 60 122 56 15 127 10 8 18 3 28 2 113 56 31 55 18 35 19 148 15 149 1 0 9 6 6 4 Success rate over 40 %
The average success rate for proposals for coordinating countries was
25.4 % in 2013, up from 22.8 % in the previous year. Of these, Norway and Sweden had the highest success rate of 50 %, though it should be noted that both submitted and coordinated just two projects. Liechtenstein has never submitted a proposal for a centralised action as a coordinator.
Chart 79 shows the higher education priorities addressed by Cooperation Projects between 2007 and 2013. The columns represent the number of times that a policy priority is covered by projects selected in a specific year. Only projects identified as relevant for policy were analysed and are represented in the graph. The same project can cover more than one priority.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 Life long learning in higher education
New skills for
new jobs Recognition
Transparency in higher education
Mobility strategies / removal barriers
Governance Funding Quality
assurance Employability
Knowledge
triangle Social dimension
2013 8 28 6 1 15 3 2 2 6 14 8 2012 0 2 2 1 9 3 2 3 5 3 7 2011 4 10 0 0 8 4 1 2 8 14 6 2010 7 11 2 3 8 1 1 9 4 16 7 2009 4 11 4 3 9 5 0 10 7 12 8 2008 4 16 7 9 15 1 1 10 9 18 14 2007 6 21 6 9 12 5 1 8 12 15 12
The Erasmus Mundus programme’s objective is to promote European higher education, to help improve and enhance the career prospects of students and to promote intercultural understanding through cooperation with third countries, in accordance with EU external policy objectives in order to contribute to the sustainable development of third countries in the field of higher education.
It does this through three Actions:
Action 1 – Erasmus Mundus Joint Programmes (Masters Courses and Joint Doctorates)
Erasmus Mundus Joint Programmes are operated by consortia of higher education institutions (HEIs) from the EU and (since 2009) elsewhere in the world. They provide an integrated course and joint or multiple diplomas following study or research at two or more HEIs. Masters Courses (EMMCs) and Joint Doctorates (EMJDs) are selected each year following a Call
for Proposals. There are currently 138 Masters and 42 Doctorates offering EU-funded scholarships or fellowships to top students and scholars for studies starting during the academic year 2014/2015.
Each year, students worldwide can apply for Erasmus Mundus scholarships to Masters and Doctorates.