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Funding Entities

Erasmus PLUS

The ERASMUS + programme aims to overcome the current European crisis, bridging the socio-economic gaps Europe is facing in the present decade, namely the social disintegration and inequality, especially among the youth. Through initiatives in the fields of education, training, youth and sport, it aims to boostgrowth and development of jobs, as well as train workers capable of undertaking them, taking special care to create funding and mobility opportunities.

The European Union programme will have a seven-year timeframe, starting in the present year, and has a budget of 14.774 billion euros. All students, apprentices, volunteers, teachers, trainees, young workers, professionals of organizations active in the fields of education, training and youth are invited to participate in the programme. They can apply by associating with participating organizations, groups or institutions based in the different countries.

Erasmus+ is based on three pillars of Key Actions, which, as a result of their joint development, will foster the sense of synergy, cooperation and exchange of ideas present in the project.

KEY ACTIONS

KA1
  • Learning mobility of individuals
  • Student and worker mobility: Opportunities for teachers, students and education institutions to have professional and/or learning experiences in another country.
  • Association for Master programmes: Awarding the best world master students integrated study grants, in international study programmes, by higher education institutions.
  • Guarantees on loans for Master students: the programme supports bank loans to higher education students, in Master-level education abroad.
Key Action 1 comprehends the creation of opportunities for individual candidates to improve their skills, foster their employability chances, and expand their cultural awareness.

KA2

  • Cooperation for innovation and good practices sharing
  • Transnational strategic partnerships: with a view to coordinated development in several fields of education and training, fostering innovation as well as the exchange of experiences and knowledge between the different types of organizations involved in these fields.
  • Knowledge Alliance: Collaboration between higher education institutions and companies that promote innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity, employability, knowledge exchange and/or multidisciplinary teaching and learning.
  • Alliances for Sectoral Cooperation on skills: Development of programmes and teaching aimed at vocational training, combining the trends of specific economic sectors and the techniques necessary for them, so that they operate in the different professional fields.
  • Capacity Building: Support to organizations and institutions in the cooperation with partner countries in the fields of higher education and youth, aiming at modernizing and internationalizing these areas.
  • eTwinning/European Platform for Adult Learning (EPALE)/European Youth Portal (IT platforms): Offering virtual collaboration spaces, databases of online opportunities and services for all involved in Europe.

Key action 2 includes the creation of opportunities to allow organizations from different countries to work jointly to develop, share and exchange best practices and the most innovative approaches in the fields of education, training and youth.

KA3

  • Support to policy reformulation
  • Knowledge in the fields of education, training and youth: Fostering the development of an informed and conscious policy, in accordance with the anticipated framework for Europe in 2020, in particular: Thematic specific analyses of each country through cooperation with academic networks
  • Group learning and review through the Open Methods of Coordination, in the fields of education, training and youth.
  • Prospection initiatives: To stimulate the development of innovative policies in stakeholders and to enable public authorities to test the efficiency of the innovative policies in field tests, based on solid evaluation;
  • Support to European policy tools: Facilitating the transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications, both formal and informal, through cross-European information networks, enabling more flexible mobility and learning for the citizens, in the fields of education, training and youth.
  • Cooperation with international organizations: Organizations of recognised expertise and analytical capacity (like the OECD or the European Council, which will strengthen the impact and added value of the policies in the above-mentioned fields.
  • Dialogue, politics and programme promotion: Actions with the interested parties such as public authorities, suppliers and other stakeholders, in the fields of education, training and youth, are necessary to promote such programmes as Europe 2020, Education and Training 2020, the European Youth Strategy e and other European programmes in this sector.
  • They are also essential to the effective exploration of the outcomes of the programme, generating tangible impact.

Key Action 3 provides funding for a wide range of actions that aim to foster an innovative policy in constant development, to start a dialogue about existing policies and the implementation of new ones as well as for knowledge transfer in the fields of education, training and youth.