146,000 students apply for ERASMUS mobility grants in 1994-95
The success of the Commission's ERASMUS (Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) and LINGUA (Promotion of the Teaching and Learning of Foreign Languages in the European Union) programmes reflects the importance attached by all those involved in higher education (students, teachers and establishments) to transnational cooperation as an effective means of developing quality education in the EU. The programmes also facilitate the social and occupational integration of young people in tomorrow's Europe. More than 146,000 students applied for ERASMUS mobility grants for the 1994/95 academic year. Following the selection procedure, 116,010 students will receive grants. This represents an increase of 8.9% in comparison with 1993-94 In addition the distribution of grants among the different countries has become more balanced. The number of establishments submitting Interuniversity Cooperation Programme (ICP) applications showed a further increase on the previous year (1,758 compared to 1,636). ERASMUS reaches nearly all universities and more than half of all other higher education establishments in the EU. Participation has increased by an average of 16%, and by as much as 26.1% in Ireland and 24% in Greece. The number of teachers eligible to work in another country has increased from 8,060 in 1993/94 to 9,753 in 1994/95. This high level of teacher mobility is an essential component in helping universities to introduce a "European dimension" into their courses to the benefit of all students, irrespective of whether or not they are involved in mobility programmes. The Commission's policy to encourage involvement of the less represented subjects has met with considerable success. Compared with the 1993/94 selection, those showing the greatest increase - which means that they are now more strongly represented than in the past - are education (+34.4%) and communication and information sciences (+27.1%). The considerable interest shown by the EFTA countries in the ERASMUS programme has continued, with an average rise in involvement in approved ICPs of 50.3%, and particularly sharp increases of 83.6% for Finland and 66.7% for Iceland. This enthusiasm has allowed these countries to become fully integrated into the European interuniversity cooperation network. The SOCRATES programme (1995-1999) will allow activities under ERASMUS and LINGUA to continue and to be extended to all levels of education. SOCRATES was proposed by the Commission on 4 January 1994, and the European Parliament completed a first reading of the proposal on 21 April 1994. It will be on the agenda for the Council of Education Ministers on 26 May 1994. By encouraging mobility for both students and teachers as well as the use of distance learning technology, SOCRATES will help to put a European dimension into the education of as many young citizens as possible.