“Erasmus Mundus Action 2 started in 2009 in the framework of the second phase of the Erasmus Mundus programme (2009-2013). It is the successor of the so-called Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window (ECW), a higher education cooperation and mobility scheme launched in 2006 by EuropeAid Development and Cooperation of the European Commission. Since the very beginning of the programme, the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) has been in charge of its implementation.
The main objectives of the Erasmus Mundus Action 2 programme are to promote partnerships and
cooperation exchanges between higher education institutions from Europe and those in third countries. In turn, these partnerships are the basis for enhancing academic cooperation and exchanges of students and staff, contributing to the socio-economic development of the non-EU countries targeted by the EU external cooperation policy.
Ten years after the creation of the programme, the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the main outcomes and results of the programme at different levels. The experiences of Erasmus Mundus Action 2 scholarship holders, the main beneficiaries of the action, are brought together in order to gather valuable information about the impact of the action at personal and systemic levels. To this aim, more than 37.000 scholarship holders from the action were invited to take part in this impact survey, including students, administrative and academic staff who were granted a mobility opportunity from 2007 to 2014.
In this publication, the results of more than 8.100 completed questionnaires are presented. The analysis provided in the following pages shows that Erasmus Mundus Action 2 has had a broad impact on scholarship holders' lives. Almost all respondents believe that their experience abroad has had a positive effect on their personal development, skills and professional competences. Furthermore, most of them have found employment after their mobility period and are enthusiast about the doors that Erasmus Mundus Action 2 has opened to them.
I am confident that the voices of students and staff reflected in this publication will enlighten stakeholders, policy makers, beneficiaries and the European Commission itself by providing useful data and inspiring guidance for the future.”
Brian HOLMES
Director
Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency