The Spanish Service for the Internationalization of Education (SEPIE), a body attached to the Ministry of Universities that acts as the National Agency of the Erasmus + program in the fields of education and training in Spain, has published the Resolution that will finance a total of 1,227 Erasmus + mobility projects in Europe, awarding 17,860 mobilities, with an economic endowment of € 46,295,117.48 in the Vocational Training, School Education and Adult Education sectors in the 2020 call.
In this call, the last call of the Erasmus + program for the 2014-2020 period, Spain has been at the forefront in receiving applications for mobility projects (KA1) in these three educational sectors, with a total of 2,619 applications received from organizations of education and training of our country that clearly bet on the internationalization of education.
Erasmus + makes students more successful in their personal and professional lives, teachers apply new teaching methods by taking training courses and observing good practices, thus expanding their international networks, and educational centers more innovative, inclusive and international.
Thanks to the approved projects, the teaching staff of these sectors and educational levels, as well as Vocational Training students will participate in mobilities in other European countries.
The Erasmus + program of the European Union seeks to promote the internationalization of educational and training institutions, as well as facilitate the achievement of the objectives of the strategic framework for Education and Training 2020 (E&T 2020).
Vocational training
€ 34,635,439.48, € 462,063 more than in the 2019 call, which represents an increase of 1.4%, will be allocated to this educational sector to finance the mobility of students and staff of Basic FP, FP from Medium Degree and Certificates of Professionalism, who will travel to another European country to carry out internships in companies, teaching or training, respectively.
Demand in the Vocational Training sector has increased exponentially in this call, with 671 applications having been submitted and the amount of which has practically doubled the amount requested with respect to the available funds. In total, 491 projects have been selected, which will allow the realization of 11,325 mobilities among students, recent graduates and teachers, an increase of 10.6% compared to the previous call. In 2020, the success of the European Commission initiative “ErasmusPRO” continues to stand out, to promote internships for students in a European country lasting more than three months.
The substantial increase in demand from VET centers and the increase in the duration of mobility reflect the great acceptance of Erasmus + international mobility within the VET sector: the number of participants has increased by 149% since 2014.
School Education
In the Erasmus + 2020 call, 601 center projects have been selected, from as many educational centers throughout the country, for teacher mobility, 96 more than in 2019. The allocated funding amounts to € 9,445,697.00, a 5, 1% higher than last year. With Erasmus +, the 5,324 mobilities will allow teachers from 601 Spanish educational centers to travel to other European countries in order to improve their professional skills and implement the good practices observed in their own educational centers.
The topics on which the selected projects deal ensure their real impact on the beneficiary educational centers in our country. In this sense, the improvement of educational centers, the teaching and learning of foreign languages, digital skills, inclusion and the reduction of early school leaving are the main themes of these projects.
Since the beginning of the Erasmus + program in 2014, more than 2,900 projects have already been subsidized, with more than 23,700 teachers participating in mobilities to other European countries.
Adult Education
135 Erasmus + mobility projects for Adult Education teachers have been selected in this call, 30 more projects than in the previous call. The total financing amounts to € 2,213,981.00, 27.9% higher than last year.
Thanks to these projects, professionals in this sector will carry out 1,211 mobilities to participate in international training activities in other countries and to carry out observation and teaching periods in other European institutions.
The selected projects are mainly related to some of the most relevant topics in adult education: intercultural and intergenerational education, teaching and learning of foreign languages, improving the quality of institutions, inclusion, as well as improvement of digital skills.
Since the beginning of the Erasmus + program in 2014, more than 4,200 professionals from the adult sector have participated in mobilities to other European countries thanks to the selection of a total of 509 projects.
Measures for the implementation of the Erasmus + program in the coming months
While mobility remains at the core of the Erasmus + program, the exceptional circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on physical mobility may continue to affect mobility in the coming months, but the Erasmus + program will not be interrupted for this reason during the next school year.
In the case of mobility for Erasmus + students, the European Commission confirms that they could be offered the possibility of starting their participation in the Erasmus + program through virtual activities, to be combined with a physical mobility abroad at a later date if the situation allows it (Blended Mobilities).
Regarding the short-term mobility of the staff of education and training organizations, a period of virtual mobility could be considered eligible, as long as the force majeure persists.
The effort and dedication of all the parties involved makes it possible for the spirit of the program to be shared in our country and in this sense, both from the European Commission and from the National SEPIE Agency we will continue working so that the Erasmus + program continues its course, as as planned, for the 2020/2021 academic year.
Information source: SEPIE press release.
