By: Anders Helmer Mørck

For decades, the Erasmus+ programme has been a synonym for students having the opportunity to study abroad in a country that is not their own. But for the UK, this is no longer a possibility.

“I think that brings a heck of a lot of understanding of the world,” says Louise Kallora-Stimpson, Director of the EU-office of the British Council, when asked what the experience of going abroad does to a young student, as they are united in a foreign country without barriers of borders.  

But since Brexit, times have changed, and Erasmus+ is not a part of the foreign stay for British students. So, what is the situation now? 

Photo by: Anders Helmer Mørck

What is Erasmus+? 

Erasmus+ has been a part of the life of students studying abroad since 1987. Over the years, 15 million students throughout Europe have used the programme to cover their expenses from study books to a beer in the college bar by night. 

The Erasmus+ primary job is to ensure that young people from across Europe the opportunity to meet new cultures, traditions, and languages – and at the same time, make connections for their own future. 

By helping students from the European member states, it has helped the young audience throughout the continent.

Until recently, the United Kingdom was also part of the programme. But since Brexit, this is not the case anymore.  

The British Government chose to withdraw from the Erasmus+, as they see the best option as creating an individual programme that pays British students going abroad, and not the students the other way around. 

This ended up becoming the Turing Scheme, which is named after the famous British mathematician, Alan Turing. 

Success or failure? 

British exchange student, Georgie Cosens, a student at the University of York, is currently based in Utrecht, where she studies History. Even though her life is much like her fellow friends from around Europe, her economic situation differs. 

She did not receive the Turing Scheme for her exchange period, as she is not a part of the 60% of accepted applicants in the UK, according to numbers from the UK Government from this year. 

“I understand as we’re not in the European Union, we shouldn’t get Erasmus+. But for me, it’s more that we should still be in the European Union,” she says.  

The reason was that Georgie was not one of the disadvantaged students from her home university, who were given the grant.  

“I was a bit disappointed, because I think it’s always handy to have that extra money, when you are going abroad for a year,” she says.  

Kallora-Stimpson has witnessed the changes over the past few years for students like Georgie, where a lot has changed since the world was shocked by the Brexit referendum in 2016. 

“I think things have to be very clear that it’s not like for like – Turing is not the same as Erasmus. There is a brand that goes along with Erasmus, as it is such an established program, which new programmes such as Turing certainly would not have in the meantime,” says Kallora-Stimpson. 

The British Council is still not certain whether the Turing Scheme is a success or not, as it is a new programme that, for the first time this year, will not offer Erasmus+ as an option for Georgie and other British students as her studying abroad.

Regardless of whether the Turing Scheme is proving to be successful or not, Georgie still finds herself unable to make the same choices as her friends in her year far away from her home in the UK.