Erasmus boosts academics’ careers

The perceived career advantages of going abroad to study under the EU’s Erasmus programme seem to be decreasing, according to an evaluation carried out for the European Commission.

Erasmus still helps students to get jobs, in particular with international responsibilities, but the benefits are less pronounced than they were in the early years of the scheme.

This is not surprising, since international experience is now much more common among graduates and young employees than a decade ago. More surprising is the study’s finding that academics who go abroad to teach under the scheme report an immense benefit to their working lives.

"The majority of them observe enhancement in international research co-operation and in their general academic competences," the study says, "while a slightly lower proportion report a substantial value for subsequent teaching activities. Some of the mobile teachers note visible career advantages and some opt subsequently for an academic career in another country, not infrequently that of their Erasmus-supported teaching period."

This is quite a dramatic effect from what is, on average, a two-week teaching placement abroad, for academics usually well advanced in their careers. Most were professors or senior academics in stable, full-time positions when they went abroad to teach. The average age was 47 and most had prior international experience.

Harald Schomburg, one of the study co-ordinators at the International Centre for Higher Education Research at the University of Kassel, concedes that it is possible that the survey is simply picking up enthusiasts for the scheme. "You can never know," he says, "but the findings are very consistent and this makes us confident that we have found something real."

The 755 academics replying to the survey represent a respectable number, and the 24% response rate is not unusual in such studies. By way of a check, the study also consulted university leaders and other experts, who agreed that teachers often become more active after their time abroad, thrived intellectually and in some cases were more visibly successful in their careers.

According to Schomburg it is important to look beyond the time an academic spends abroad, and that involvement in an Erasmus teaching visit involves contacts with the foreign partner over a much longer period, both before and afterwards. "But it is still a rather surprising result that with this small initiative something seems to be created which looks a little bit like the European Research Area or the European Higher Education Area," he adds.

These benefits go beyond the ends intended for the teaching element of Erasmus. Its main function is to underpin student mobility between the partner institutions, contribute to curriculum development and to give an international experience to students who do not travel. According to the Kassel study these aims are being met as well.

Given this dramatic effect from such a small investment, the report recommends that support be increased for extended periods of teaching abroad. Erasmus allows visits of up to six months, but academics are limited in what they can do by the need to supplement the EU funds with resources from their own institutions and because Erasmus is frequently considered additional to their normal workload. The study also wants temporary teaching in another country be taken into account more strongly in decisions affecting career enhancement, such as appointments and promotion.

• Ian Mundell is a freelance journalist based in?Brussels.

The perceived career advantages of going abroad to study under the EU’s Erasmus programme seem to be decreasing, according to an evaluation carried out for the European Commission.