DfE announces £100m scheme to replace Erasmus+

The new Turing Programme will fund around 35,000 places for students at UK universities, colleges and schools for exchanges abroad in 2021/22. The Department for Education said the scheme will aim to boost social mobility for disadvantaged students while "delivering greater value for money for taxpayers".

It said the programme will provide similar opportunities for students to study and work abroad as the Erasmus+ programme but will offer opportunities in countries outside the European Union and will also target students from disadvantaged backgrounds and areas which did not previously have many students benefiting from Erasmus+.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “We now have the chance to expand opportunities to study abroad and see more students from all backgrounds benefit from the experience.

“We have designed a truly international scheme which is focused on our priorities, delivers real value for money and forms an important part of our promise to level up the United Kingdom.

“These opportunities will benefit both our students and our employers, as well as strengthening our ties with partners across the world."

Vivienne Stern, director of Universities UK International, said: “Evidence shows that students who have international experience tend to do better academically and in employment, and the benefits are greatest for those who are least advantaged.

“The new Turing scheme is a fantastic development and will provide global opportunities for up to 35,000 UK students to study and work abroad.”

However, Paul Cardwell, professor of law at the University of Strathclyde, warned that it will be difficult to get people due to go on Erasmus placements in the coming year on to the replacement initiative, pointing out that "setting up non-Erasmus agreements with Universities takes many months of bureaucracy".

Last week crossbench peer Baroness Coussins called on government to reconsider leaving the Erasmus programme.

"Despite its illustrious name, the Turing scheme will be a cheap inferior substitute whose unintended consequences haven't been thought through, and funding is guaranteed for only one year," she said during a debate in the House of Lords.

UK organisations will be invited to bid into the scheme early this year. Successful applications will receive funding to administer the scheme and students taking part will receive grants to help them with the costs of their international experience. 

The DfE said benefits of the exchanges to schools and colleges will be assessed and the learnings will be used to build on future schemes, with funding decisions for subsequent years "subject to future spending reviews". 

To meet delivery timescales the DfE said universities, colleges and schools should begin preparation with international partners as soon as possible.