Education and training are key fields of action of ERASMUS+ programme.

Specific objectives

In the field of education and training, the Programme shall pursue the following specific objectives:

1. to improve the level of key competences and skills, with particular regard to their relevance for the labour market and their contribution to a cohesive society;
2. to foster quality improvements, innovation excellence and internationalisation at the level of education and training institutions;
3. to promote the emergence and raise awareness of a European lifelong learning area designed to complement policy reforms at national level and to support the modernisation of education and training systems;
4. to enhance the international dimension of education and training;
5. to improve the teaching and learning of languages and to promote the Union’s broad linguistic diversity and intercultural awareness;
6. to promote excellence in teaching and research activities in European integration through the Jean Monnet activities worldwide.

Actions of the Programme

In the field of education and training, the Erasmus+ Programme shall pursue its objectives through the following types of actions:

1. learning mobility of individuals;
2. cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices; and
3. support for policy reform.

1. Learning mobility of individuals

Learning mobility of individuals shall support the following activities within the Programme countries:

1. the mobility of students in all cycles of higher education and of students, apprentices and pupils in vocational education and training.
2. the mobility of staff, within the Programme countries. This mobility may take the form of teaching or assistantships or participation in professional development activities abroad.

2. Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices shall support:

1. strategic partnerships between organisations and/or institutions involved in education and training or other relevant sectors aimed at developing and implementing joint initiatives and promoting peer learning and exchanges of experience;
2. partnerships between the world of work and education and training institutions in the form of:
   — knowledge alliances between, in particular, higher education institutions and the world of work aimed at promoting creativity, innovation, work-based learning and entrepreneurship by offering relevant learning opportunities, including developing new curricula and pedagogical approaches;
   — sector skills alliances between education and training providers and the world of work aimed at promoting employability, contributing to the creation of new sector-specific or cross-sectoral curricula, developing innovative methods of vocational teaching and training and putting the Union transparency and recognition tools into practice;
3. IT support platforms, covering all education and training sectors, including in particular eTwinning, allowing peer learning, virtual mobility and exchanges of good practices and opening access for participants from neighbourhood countries.

3. Support for policy reform

Support for policy reform shall include the activities initiated at Union level relating to:

1. the implementation of the Union policy agenda on education and training in the context of the OMC (Open Method of Coordination), as well as to the Bologna and Copenhagen processes;
2. the implementation in Programme countries of Union transparency and recognition tools, in particular
   • the single Union framework for the transparency of qualifications and competences (Europass),
   • the European Qualifications Framework (EQF),
   • the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS),
   • the European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET),
   • the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET),
   • the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) and the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), and
   • the provision of support to Union-wide networks and European non-governmental organisations (NGOs) active in the field of education and training;
3. the policy dialogue with relevant European stakeholders in the field of education and training;
4. NARIC, the Eurydice and Euroguidance networks, and the National Europass Centres.

Jean Monnet activities

The Jean Monnet activities shall aim to:

1. promote teaching and research on European integration worldwide among specialist academics, learners and citizens;
2. support the activities of academic institutions or associations active in the field of European integration studies and support a Jean Monnet label for excellence;
3. support institutions pursuing an aim of European interest;
4. promote policy debate and exchanges between the academic world and policy-makers on Union policy priorities.

More detailed information on the Programme, including call of proposals are available on the web site of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA).