Germany · 35 years of the Erasmus Programme

The Erasmus programme was established in 1987 by the then European Community. Its name refers to Erasmus von Rotterdam and was also used as an acronym for “European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students”. The aim was to facilitate study stays in other European countries in organisational and financial terms. This included grants, agreements between higher education institutions and arrangements for the recognition of academic achievements completed abroad. The intention was to prevent a semester abroad from automatically leading to an extension or interruption of studies.

Erasmus von Rotterdam was a Dutch humanist, theologian and philologist of the Renaissance. He was born in the 15th century and died in Basel in 1536. Throughout his life, he stayed in various European cities and centres of learning. Among other things, he worked on editions of ancient and early Christian texts and addressed questions of education, religion and church reform. One of his best-known works is the satirical The Praise of Folly (Lob der Torheit). His cross-border scholarly activities made him a suitable namesake for a European exchange programme.

Initially aimed at higher education students, the programme was expanded several times. Since 2014, various previously separate education and youth programmes have been brought together under the name Erasmus+. In addition to higher education institutions, it covers schools, vocational education and training, adult education, youth exchanges and sport, among other areas. Support is provided not only to learners, but also to teachers, trainers and other employees of educational institutions.

The joint coin issue refers to the programme’s political character. Erasmus is not an initiative of a single state, but is based on cooperation between educational institutions and authorities across national borders. The choice of a common design by numerous euro-area countries therefore places the European connection of the occasion at the forefront. At the same time, the issue commemorates an instrument of European education and mobility policy that was created before the introduction of the euro.