Winter semester of Erasmus + during the pandemic in numbers

RV, DZS

18. 12. 2020

Report from a data survey conducted by the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research at Czech universities.

Czech National Agency for International Education and Research, the administrator of the Erasmus+ programme, collected data from Czech higher education institutions regarding student mobility in the Erasmus+ programme. Programme coordinators from 48 institutions took part in the survey.

Erasmus+ mobility was completed by a half of the registered students in winter semester. Nearly one third of them studied online. The Czech Republic was visited by 74% of students accepted for the Erasmus+ programme.

Obtained data reveal that 35% of students registered for the mobility started their study abroad in a standard regime. Another 13% of registered students went abroad and studied online. Dozens of students chose the opportunity to study online from the Czech Republic. "The European Commission has included online study among the adequate forms of Erasmus+ mobility. Students who studied online abroad are entitled to a scholarship just as students who study abroad in standard regime. When studying online from the Czech Republic, there is no entitlement to a scholarship,” Roman Klepetko, Head of the University Mobility and Projects Department of the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research explains.

17% of students accepted for the Erasmus+ exchange decided to postpone it; 35% of them chose to cancel their planned mobility. Usually, the decision not to implement the mobility was made by students themselves. There were fewer cases when a foreign university ceased to accept foreign students.

More than 3,000 students who came to the Czech Republic in the Erasmus+ programme this semester studied online, just as did the Czech university students. Foreign students have the opportunity to use dormitory accommodation, and most of them can also borrow books from the school library or enjoy individual consultations by lecturers. Universities are trying to make their stay more pleasant with extra online activities; there is an information service for them, and practical assistance to students who had to undergo quarantine. Also, the buddy system continues to work, thanks to which foreign and local students can be in contact. The Erasmus Student Network has moved its activities to the online space too.

Virtual elements in mobilities are counted with even in the new Erasmus+ programme period which begins in 2021. In the Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027, the European Commission calls to learn from this year's pandemic situation, during which digital technology was used at an unprecedented scale in education and training.