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Research Newsletter – Issue 99: Erasmus Feature Spotlight

Erasmus+ 2025

The Erasmus+ 2025 call for funding is now open. In their press release, the European Commission confirmed a budget of around €5 billion, a 6.5% increase in funding compared to last year, to support learning exchanges abroad and cooperation partnerships in education, training, youth and sport.

First launched in 1987 as an exchange programme for students in higher education, the Erasmus+ programme now offers a wide range of cooperation opportunities for educational institutions and organisations across civil society. The programme supports, through lifelong learning, the educational, professional, and personal development of people in education, training, youth, and sport, in Europe and beyond. It fosters cooperation and exchange of practices, supports the development of innovative teaching, training, and learning methods, and promotes non-formal learning and the development of common tools and activities. 

 

Why do Erasmus+?

Through collaborative projects and research activities, individuals and organisations gain experience in international cooperation, strengthen their capacities, develop innovative approaches, exchange good practices, and network. Participants collaborate with national, European, and international partners in a wide range of activities and projects funded through the Erasmus+ programme, developing excellence, creativity, and innovation in all fields of education and training. 

Involvement in an Erasmus+ project helps build international networks, brings experience in working with EU funding, and can lead to publications and further research funding.

 

Erasmus+ at DCU

There has been a steady increase in participation in Erasmus+ projects at DCU, making the drawdown the 5th highest source of external research funding awarded to DCU during the 5-year period 2019-2023 (as reported through TORA).

The range of topics that can be addressed through an Erasmus+ project is very open. We have a particularly rich diversity of subject areas in DCU’s numerous Erasmus+ awards that span all the faculties and several of our research centres and other units. The number and diversity of awards in 2024 reflect high levels of innovation and expertise active across the University, not least the two most recent Erasmus+ awards under the Key Action 3 – Policy Experimentation call. See the Good News/Funding Successes section in this newsletter for details. 

Embedding policies for digital wellness in schools, supporting minority languages in early years education,  and multilingual digital educational resources in science education are just a few examples of the topics of some of our awards. Full lists of Erasmus+ awards 2021-2023 at DCU are on our Erasmus+ webpage. 

 

Erasmus+ Key Actions

Erasmus+ activities fall under three Key Actions focused on one of the following fields:  Education and Training (including: Higher Education; School Education; Adult Education; Vocational Education & Training); Sports; Youth; and the Jean Monnet Action.

  • Key Action 1: Learning Mobility of Individuals. This covers individual mobility for students and staff. It is managed at DCU by the Placement Unit’s International Mobility team.

  • Key Action 2: Cooperation among Organisations and Institutions. This Key Action supports the development, transfer and implementation of innovative practices at organisational, local, regional, national, or European levels. It is about modernising and advancing the quality of systems and approaches in the chosen field and improving key competences and skills.

  • Key Action 3: Support to policy development and cooperation.  Participants in projects under this action contribute to the development and implementation of policies at EU level, often triggering modernisation and reforms. 

  • Jean Monnet Actions support teaching, learning, research and debates on various aspects of the European Union.

 

How to Apply in 2025 / Find Out More

Guidance and information for prospective applicants is provided by DCU’s Erasmus+ Development Officer Dr Sophie Ball. She runs events throughout the year to support staff to submit successful funding applications. Past presentations and other resources are on DCU’s Erasmus+ webpage.

There will be two events in January:

  • 5th January - A Lunch and Learn session co-organised with ECIU, with three colleagues sharing their experience as Erasmus+ proposal evaluators, including DCU’s Dr Martin Brown (School of Policy & Practice).  

  • 22nd January - There will be an information session for applicants at DCU.  Please see the Events page of this newsletter for more information and registration.

In the Funding Opportunities section of this newsletter, there is further information about the 2025 Call including deadline dates.

Please don't hesitate to reach out to Dr Sophie Ball to find out more about the Erasmus+ programme or to discuss your ideas for a project.