Twenty years ago I was an Erasmus student in Lille. It gave me the confidence to then be a graduate student in Japan. In my academic jobs, I've sent literally 100s of students on Erasmus and other links. Here are some thoughts. /1
First, as @ProfChalmers has point out, this does not prevent the UK taking part in #Erasmus in the future, but only that the govt is not obliged to do so. So all is not lost. /2
The government remains 'committed' to continuing participation 'if it is in our interests to do so'. Those interests are, of course, not only to do with education, but the desire to be integrated with an EU programme. theguardian.com/politics/2020/… /3
It is true that non-EU states are part of Erasmus (Norway, Iceland, Turkey). Relevant EU law says that participation open to associated/enlargement/EEA states. The UK will not, as present, be one of these. The new Erasmus proposal would need amending. eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/… /4
"Why not send students elsewhere - US, Canada etc?" Of course this is possible. BUT where does the financial support come from? Very little funding available. In other words, without the Erasmus grant, less well off students will be unable to go. /5
Plus, the beauty of Erasmus is its simplicity and standard form. Negotiating with non-EU universities is possible (I've done) but very difficult and far less likely to be durable. Why? Because these are exchange links and require students to want to come the other way too. /6
I've previously written about what "Global Britain" needs to do if it is to make sure UK students are able to get the international experience that is so valuable, character building. timeshighereducation.com/blog/plan-stud… /7
And not to mention the academic benefits of going abroad, as I argued in an academic article here: tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108… /8
I am not hopeful that the UK will continue in Erasmus as it has done, mainly because of how Erasmus is embedded in other EU programmes that the UK will (for political reasons) shy away from. This is the real tragedy of Brexit: hitting hardest the young people who need it. /END
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