Designed to foster a skilled and dynamic work force within the European Union, Erasmus+ supports business and institutional co-operation throughout 33 participating European countries and 23 partner countries.
With a budget of €14.8 billion going into the 2014-2020 period, Erasmus+ seeks to encourage greater cooperation between European education and business in the hopes of increasing the skills and employability of students and the competitiveness of European economy.
Erasmus+ and your Business
In a business climate which faces ever increasing globalisation, Erasmus+ offers businesses a way to connect to Higher Education on a European or global level.
Key Action 1, which involves the mobility of staff and students, supports traineeships for higher education staff and students through the 33 programme countries. These traineeships can enable companies to directly connect with foreign markets via new language skills and local knowledge, introduce new business practices and ideas and develop links with higher education institutions.
Key Action 2, the establishment Strategic Partnerships and Knowledge and Sectoral Skill Alliances, enables companies and institutions to engage in structured, transnational partnerships and projects to facilitate the development and implementation of new innovative practices, encourage entrepreneurship, the exchange of knowledge and new teaching practices throughout Europe.
Businesses may also be interested in checking out the European-University Business Forum. The forum was set up by the European Commission in 2006 to encourage links between university and business at the European level through a series of initiatives.