05 June 2007

EU praise Sheffield exchange scheme

The University of Sheffield has been hailed as one of the most successful in the European Commission's Europe-wide Erasmus student exchange programme. Among 2,500 higher education institutions taking part across Europe, Sheffield was the only UK university to make the top 20.

Erasmus, the European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students, is the European Commission's educational programme for Higher Education students, teachers and institutions. The scheme, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, gives European students and staff the chance to spend time studying or working at other universities in Europe.

As part of the University of Sheffield´s Erasmus scheme there are 270 exchange agreements with 25 Universities across Europe. During the 2006/07 academic year over 270 students from the University went on exchange programmes in Europe and 470 students from Europe came to study at the University.

Professor Bob Boucher, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield, said: "We are delighted to have been recognised for having one of the most successful Erasmus schemes in Europe. This is a great achievement and I am very proud of the staff who have been involved in running the scheme. This acknowledgement confirms Sheffield´s position in the global academic community and demonstrates our commitment to providing our students with an international dimension to their studies."

Belén Bernaldo de Quirós, Head of Unit for Erasmus at the European Commission, said: "I would like to congratulate the University of Sheffield for being one of the success stories of our brochure "Erasmus success stories". While there are many ways to define excellence, for our first brochure the fairest and most transparent way was to look at mobility figures for incoming and outgoing students and lecturers and to assess the level of innovation with curriculum development. The University of Sheffield had the highest number of incoming and outgoing students in the academic year 2004/2005 of all the UK universities.

"I would like to thank the University of Sheffield for the effort already undertaken so far and I hope that the Erasmus scheme at the University will continue to prosper in the coming years."


Student case studies

Jasper Reinel, who is on exchange from the University of Hamburg and who has been studying Philosophy and English Literature at the University of Sheffield as part of the Erasmus scheme, has been very impressed with the University. He said: "The Erasmus programme has been a great experience for me. I felt quite anxious about leaving my country but everyone at the University made me feel very welcome. The Orientation Programme for international students was excellent and full of friendly people eager to help.

"On the academic side, I was amazed at the enthusiasm with which my lecturers went about their jobs and all the modules I have taken here have been interesting and valuable to my education. I will cherish my time in Sheffield as one of the most valuable experiences of my life."

Alex Murray, who is studying Economics at the University of Sheffield, spent a semester studying at the University of Venice, the Universita ca´ Foscari di Venezi, as part of the Erasmus programme.

He said: "The Erasmus experience was amazing. I studied in Venice alongside students from all over Europe and made loads of friends. My communication and confidence skills improved drastically, having no language skills before going I can happily hold a conversation in Italian now. The organisational and financial support provided by the University of Sheffield Erasmus programme and departmental staff was brilliant. Every time I hear someone mention they have the chance to do it, I just say don't even hesitate. Without Erasmus I may never have seen Venice, let alone lived there."

Notes for Editors: The Erasmus programme was launched in June 1987 and 3244 participated in its first academic year. Now, more than 150 000 people benefit each year from the programme. The European Commission and the 31 participating countries will celebrate its 20th anniversary throughout the year 2007.

The Erasmus programme, which is arguably one of the best-known Community actions, encourages student and teacher mobility, and promotes translational cooperation projects among universities across Europe. The scheme currently covers nine out of every ten European higher education establishments. It was named after Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466 - 1536), who was a Dutch humanist and theologian.

Erasmus has developed beyond just being an educational programme. It gives many European university students the chance of living for the first time in a foreign country, and it has reached the status of a social and cultural phenomenon. Well over 1.7 million students have so far benefited from Erasmus grants, and the European Commission hopes to reach a total of 3 million by 2012.

For further information please contact: Jenny Wilson, Media Relations Officer on 0114 2225339 or email j.c.wilson@sheffield.ac.uk

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