6 Things You Didn’t Know About The Erasmus Programme

With my Erasmus exchange semester coming to an end I realized just how amazing of an adventure Erasmus exchange actually is. You have all probably heard that before and there has been already a lot written on different experiences students had during their exchange. But there are some very interesting facts about the Erasmus Programme that a recent Erasmus Impact Study done by the European Commission shed light on and that you probably haven’t heard about before.

  1. It boosts your employability

Ok, you might already know this, however research shows that more than 85% of Erasmus students study or train abroad to enhance their employment opportunities. Young people that study abroad are half as likely to face long term unemployment. This is the result of student’s increased transversal skills such as curiosity, problem-solving, tolerance, decisiveness and confidence, which are the traits that employers are usually looking for in an employee. Tests before and after exchange periods abroad reveal that Erasmus students show higher values for these personality traits even before their exchange starts and by the time they come back, the difference in these values increases by 42% on average. That is why having an Erasmus exchange experience on your resume is a great signal for employers, who are putting more and more weight on it. In 2006 37% of employers thought international experience is important; in 2014 this percentage went up to 64%.

  1. It lands you a better job

Statistics shows that graduates with an exchange experience are given greater professional responsibility more frequently. Of the Erasmus alumni surveyed in the last Erasmus Impact Study, 77% held positions with leadership components 10 years after graduation, and Erasmus alumni were 44% more likely to hold managerial positions than non-mobile alumni.

  1. It helps you become an entrepreneur

The experience seems to foster entrepreneurship: almost 1 in 10 students that had the Erasmus experience started their own company, and more than 3 out of 4 plan to, or can envisage doing so. The cause for this aren’t just improved transversal skills – being on an exchange program makes you more opened to diversity, which is the main driver of new ideas and innovation.

  1. It makes you more mobile

Student mobility also promotes job mobility in the future. Of the mobile alumni surveyed, 40% had moved country at least once since graduation compared with 23% of non-mobile alumni. In addition, 93% can imagine themselves living abroad. Former Erasmus students are also more than twice as likely to change their employer as non-mobile alumni. In addition to that Erasmus also strengthens your feeling of being an European Union citizen. More than 80% of the Erasmus students felt a strong bond with Europe after their Erasmus exchange.

  1. It enhances your social life

Erasmus not only improves career prospects, it also offers students broader horizons and social links. Erasmus is a great opportunity to make new international friends and these friendships may create travel opportunities in the future. Because of enhanced transversal skills you will also be able to make friends more easily in general.

  1. …and it could even guide you to your soulmate

Former Erasmus students are also more likely to haveMid Image 2 transnational relationships since 33% of former Erasmus students have a partner of a different nationality (compared with 13% of those who stay home during their studies). 27% of Erasmus students meet their long-term partner while on an Erasmus exchange. The European Commission estimates that around one million babies are likely to have been born to Erasmus couples since 1987.

 

To conclude, Erasmus exchange really is a life-changing experience that you should not miss.

Sources

http://ec.europa.eu/education/library/study/2014/erasmus-impact_en.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/education/opportunities/higher-education/index_en.htm



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