What is Erasmus +?

Lifelong Learning and Youth Programs renew and come under a new name.

Erasmus + is replacing the Lifelong Learning and Youth Programs in 2014-2020. Erasmus +, which is planned to be implemented between 2014 and 2020 will include education, training and youth fields as well as sports field.

With Erasmus +, it is once again emphasized that education and training are important in revealing the potential of individuals. The new program aims:
• To gain new skills regardless of age and educational backgrounds,
• To strengthen their personal development,
• To increase employment opportunities.

For these purposes, Erasmus + will support individual learning opportunities and institutional collaborations.

What is the Difference of Erasmus + Program from Existing Lifelong Learning and Youth Programs?

Erasmus + does not differ significantly from the current program in terms of basic objectives and activities. In other words, the main objectives of Erasmus + are to improve the skills and employability of individuals and to provide a modern structure of education and training systems.

However, some changes are envisaged in order to increase the efficiency of existing programs, to make them easier to implement and to have a simple structure.

With Erasmus+;
The Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci, Comenius and Grundtvig programs and the 5 international cooperation programs (Erasmus Mundus, Tempus, Alfa, Edulink and Cooperation with Industrialized Countries) are included in the Lifelong Learning Programs and are grouped under Erasmus +. So instead of the names of previous programs, only the name Erasmus + will be used. In this way, the fragmented structure is abandoned and the programs have an integrated structure.

• Simpler application rules and procedures comes with a single program.
• Debt (credit) guarantee program starts to be implemented in order to support students who have a master's degree to gain the necessary skills to continue their education abroad and to work in a knowledge-intensive job.
• By providing new teaching methods, large-scale partnerships (knowledge associations) are provided to increase creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship among higher education institutions and workplaces.
• In order to increase employability through innovative vocational education and training methods, it creates opportunities to create partnerships (sectorial skills associations) between educational institutions.
• Mobility and partnership opportunities are significantly strengthened in the new era and funding opportunities are increasing, especially for higher education / vocational training students, teachers, trainers and youth workers.
• It provides more opportunities for the educational institutions and youth organizations to share good practices, to promote business innovation and employability, and to support IT platforms such as e-twinning.

Why did the European Commission prefer Erasmus+ ?

Erasmus is a name that is recognized more strongly in the public sector, strongly associated with education and European cooperation abroad. While creating a holistic, single program, the use of various and different names is avoided and the recognition of Erasmus brand is considered. For this reason, in the period of 2014-2020, the grant resources in the fields of education, youth and sports will be used with activities under the name of Erasmus+.

Which Areas will be Supported by Erasmus +?

Activities supported under the Erasmus + Program are grouped under 3 main headings:

• Learning Opportunities for Individuals: Erasmus + Program; It provides individual learning opportunities within and / or outside the European Union (EU) for more than 5 million people. Learning opportunities for individuals can take place in the following ways:

1. Education and teaching,
2. Learning, o Internship,
3. Professional development,
4. Non-formal learning youth activities
5. Voluntary work

In the area of higher education, beneficiary countries of the program will have the opportunity to study or teach in higher education institutions within Europe or anywhere in the world. In this way, with Erasmus +, it is aimed to increase the interest in higher education in Europe and at the same time to create a favorable environment for the development of higher education in non-European countries.

• Corporate Collaborations: Erasmus +; it provides opportunities to establish institutional partnerships (collaborations) between education institutions, youth organizations, business world, local / regional authorities and non-governmental organizations in the context of education, training and youth activities. It is aimed to develop innovative practices, creativity, entrepreneurship and employability through these partnerships.

• Promoting Policy Reform and Collaboration: Encouraging the production of policies based on scientific basis and sharing good practices in this field is one of the main activities of the Erasmus + Program. Under the heading of Promoting Policy Reform, it will be possible to promote cooperation and good practices in this area with non-EU countries under the heading of supporting policy reform in EU member states and promoting cooperation. Support in this regard; tools such as ECVET, EQF, EQAVET, and other specific policy agendas such as Bologna and Copenhagen will be followed.

Why a New EU Approach is needed in Education?

The European Union has also demonstrated a coordinated growth and employment strategy in the EU2020 Strategy with the impact of the economic conditions. Education is an integral part of this strategy.

The labor market is changing as well as the economic conditions in Europe. While the number of jobs requiring low skills decreases, the number of jobs requiring high skills increases. By 2020, it is estimated that 35% of all work will be done with high skill, innovation capacity and adaptability. Accordingly, one of the main objectives of the EU2020 Strategy is to increase access to higher education from 32% to 40%. Accordingly, one of the main objectives of the EU2020 Strategy is to increase access to higher education from 32% to 40%. Erasmus + aims to help people gain more and better skills through opportunities to study abroad and study.

Another main objective of the EU2020 Strategy in the field of education is the withdrawal of early school leaving from 14% to 10%. The EU2020 Strategy will support the modernization of education at all levels to contribute to this objective. Widespread learning will be supported by youth exchanges and volunteer activities.

How Will Erasmus + Solve Youth Unemployment?

Research shows that students taking part of their education abroad are more likely to find jobs abroad. Erasmus + will help young people to gain the skills and skills to improve their personal development and job opportunities. Education opportunities abroad will also improve the language skills and adaptability of young people.

The results of the research show that it is not enough to have the right diploma to find a job, and that employers are increasingly looking for skills that are gained through widespread learning experiences, such as voluntary work. As a matter of fact, 75% of the young people who joined the European Voluntary Service stated that career opportunities have improved through this experience. With Erasmus +, it will also be given importance to informal learning.

Who is the target group of Erasmus +?

With Erasmus+, the target audience supported by existing programs does not change. As in the Lifelong Learning and Youth programs in the new period, it focuses on the needs of each age and every educational level.

Teachers, trainers, youth workers will continue to be supported because they create multiplier effect with young people regardless of children, students, interns and volunteers.

The target groups of Erasmus + program;

• In the area of higher education; university students, academicians and higher education workers with higher education institutions,
• In the field of vocational education; vocational training institutions and organizations with managers, teachers and students, beginners, employers, apprentices, professionals, educators, vocational training employees, • In the field of school education; school administrators, teachers and students and employees,
• In the field of adult education; learners, trainers, members and staff of adult education institutions,
• In the field of youth, there are institutions and organizations operating in this field together with their members and employees, young people between the ages of 13-30, youth workers.

Which Countries are Program Country?

The countries which will benefit from Erasmus + program:
• EU member countries,
• Non-EU program countries (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Macedonia and Turkey),
• Third countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Republic of Montenegro, Serbia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, Russian Federation, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisia).

Which Areas Does the Erasmus+ Program Support?

The activities supported under the Erasmus+ Program mainly cover 3 main actions:

Main Action 1: Learning Mobility of Individuals

Main Action 2: Cooperation for Innovation and Change of Good Practices

Main Action 3: Support for Policy Reform

Special Action 1: Jean Monnet Program

Special Action 2: Sport Supports

We can summarize the general information about these topics as follows:

Main Action 1: Learning Mobility of Individuals
Erasmus + Program; it provides learning opportunities to individuals within and outside the EU for more than 5 million people. Activities for individuals' learning mobility may be in the following forms:
• Education,
• Learning / Teaching,
• Internship,
• Professional development,
• Non-formal learning youth activities,
• Voluntary work.
In the area of higher education; beneficiaries in program countries have the opportunity to study and teach in higher education institutions within the borders of Europe or anywhere in the world. In this way, the Erasmus + Program will create a favorable environment for increasing the interest in higher education in Europe and at the same time for the development of higher education in non-European countries.

Main Action 2: Cooperation for Innovation And Change of Good Practices
Cooperation for Innovation and Change of Good Practices; it provides opportunities to establish institutional partnerships (collaborations) between educational institutions, youth organizations, business world, local / regional authorities and non-governmental organizations in the context of education, training and youth activities. It is aimed to develop innovative practices, creativity, entrepreneurship and employability through these partnerships.

The projects to be realized in cooperation by establishing partnerships can be classified as country-centered and centralized activities:
• Country-based activities are the projects managed by the national agency in the applicant's country.
• Central activities are the projects where the applications are made to the European Commission Executive Agency in Brussels. “Strategic Partnerships” from the following activities are country-based; “Sectorial Skills Partnerships” and “Information Partnerships” are central activities. We can summarize these 3 types of projects under Main Action 2: Cooperation for Innovation and Change of Good Practices:

1. Strategic Partnerships Within the scope of Strategic Partnerships made to local national agencies; in order to develop, transfer and / or implement innovative practices at institutional, local / regional, national or international level, strategic cooperation and partnership projects between the institutions of program member countries are supported. It is important to plan the Strategic Partnerships by taking horizontal priorities and sectorial priorities into consideration. For horizontal and sectorial priorities, please refer to the 2016 Erasmus + Program Guide. As of 2016, Strategic Partnerships can be made in two ways depending on the partnership structure and objectives:
• Strategic Partnerships supporting innovation: innovative ideas and projects aimed at developing products. Applications from every sector will be accepted for the Strategic Partnership Projects that support the “Production of Innovations”, which includes intellectual outputs and multiplier activities.
• Strategic Partnerships that support the Change of Good Practices: Applications from sectors other than the higher education area will be accepted for the Strategic Partnerships Projects for the “Change of Good Practices”, which supports the establishment of methods, practices and ideas as well as networking.

These projects are included in the Erasmus + Program to perform the following main activities:
• To develop and transfer innovative and model applications to schools, local / regional school administrations, teacher education institutions and departments, other institutions in different countries,
• Actualize stronger cooperation between higher education institutions and key stakeholders (institutions, research institutions, social partners, local / regional governments, other education-training and youth sectors) to promote quality and innovation in higher education,
• Supporting EU studies and developments in the field of higher education policies to create a systematic impact at a higher level,
• To carry out transnational cooperation between vocational education-training providers and local / regional business institutions,
• To ensure that vocational education systems can meet the needs of the sector-specific labor market at a high level and contribute to the increasing economic competitive environment in the related sectors,
• To provide high quality education opportunities for adults and to meet the learning demands of adult education providers strongly,
• To contribute to the development of dialogue between national policies and EU countries on adult education and training,
• To promote cooperation and exchanges in the youth field between other countries (ACP, Latin America, Asia, industrialized countries) from different parts of the world,
• To develop Youth Policy Cooperation at EU level and to create EU Youth Strategy and promote systematic communication.

2. Sectorial Skills Partnerships Sectorial Skills Partnerships within the scope of central activities; These are international systems that aim to increase the responsiveness of vocational training systems to the sectorial skills needs of the labor market in a given economic sector and to new skills demands related to one or more occupational areas. The sectors considered as eligible under this activity are:
• Sectors forming European Sectorial Skills Councils such as textiles, clothing, leather and trade,
• The sectors where European Commission interfered with present policies and where there are ability controversy such as advanced manufacturing, Information and Communication Technologies, Eco-innovation (environmental technologies),
• Cultural and creative industries.

3. Information Partnerships Information Partnerships within the scope of central activities are international, structured and result oriented projects aiming to build a bridge between higher education and business world. It is aimed to strengthen the innovation capacity of Europe by encouraging innovation in higher education, business world and wide socio-economic environment with Information Partnerships. The three main features of the activity are:

• Innovation in Higher Education,
• University-business sustainability,
• Strengthen the impact during and after the project.

Main Action 3: Support for Policy Reform
Support to the Policy Reform in which central activities can take place; it was identified as one of the main actions of the Erasmus + Program in order to promote policy-based policy making and to share good practices in this field. Under the title of Support to Policy Reform, it will be possible to support policy reform in EU member states, on the other hand, cooperation and good practice in this area with non-EU countries. In addition to the aforementioned programs within the scope of Erasmus + Program by the European Commission, Sport Supports and Jean Monnet Program are also implemented as special actions.

Special Actions 1: Sport Supports
The general purpose of Sport Supports is to contribute to the systematic development of the European sport dimension. The following sports activities can be supported under the Erasmus+ Program:
• Cooperation Partnerships in Sport-related Areas,
• Non-profit Sport Events,
• Small Cooperation Partnerships.

All public institutions / organizations and non-profit organizations can apply to Cooperation Partnerships in sports related areas from the Program Country. 5 different organizations from at least 5 different Program Countries should be involved in the project. Project duration may vary between 12-36 months.

All public institutions / organizations and all non-profit organizations can apply to non-profit Sport Activities from at least 12 different Program Countries.

Small Cooperation Partnerships; it offers opportunities for the establishment, implementation and transfer of innovative practices among various institutions and organizations, including local, national, public, sports, sports and institutions related to sports and physical activity.

As Sport Supports are central activities, applications will be submitted directly to the European Commission Executive Agency in Brussels. (http://eacea.ec.europa.eu)

For detailed information please check the European Commission's http://eacea.ec.europa.eu page and the Erasmus+ Program Guide.

Special Actions 2: Jean Monnet Program
The Jean Monnet Program aims to support studies at the level of higher education institutions in the field of European integration. The following activities may be supported under the Jean Monnet Program:
• Jean Monnet Academic Modules (teaching and research),
• Jean Monnet Chairs (teaching and research),
• Jean Monnet Centers of Excellence (teaching and research),
• Jean Monnet Support to Organizations and Societies,
• Jean Monnet Networks (policy discussions with the academic community),
• Jean Monnet Projects (policy discussions with the academic community).