Editor in chief at IamExpat Media
The Education Ministry has announced plans to increase financial support for young people coming to study in Germany for a semester abroad under the European Union’s Erasmus+ scheme.
Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger said that 57 million euros from the European Social Fund will be used to increase the monthly living allowance for students who do a semester abroad in another EU country or the UK. “This will enable us to provide higher support for up to 13.700 more young people,” she said.
After the basic scholarships offered on the exchange programme were increased by the traffic light coalition several months ago, the news means that students are eligible for a monthly Erasmus+ stipend of 490 to 600 euros per month, depending on which country they are studying in. Certain students may also qualify for an extra stipend of 250 euros per month.
Erasmus is the EU’s exchange programme, designed to support education, training youth and sport in Europe by helping students in EU member states transfer to universities in different countries for up to 12 months during their studies. Financial support is also given to students who complete work experience opportunities and internships abroad, on top of any other scholarships they might receive.
In 2020, a year where restrictions due to coronavirus made international opportunities tricky, the Erasmus+ programme still facilitated nearly 640.000 learning experiences abroad. Since 1987, when the scheme was first launched, it has enabled nearly 4 million students to study in another European country by funding their living costs and waiving their tuition fees.
Since Brexit, the UK is no longer a member of the scheme, although funding has been secured for many placements in the 2021 / 2 academic year. In future, the UK will operate its own exchange programme, the Turing scheme.