Home » News » After Brexit and Erasmus-Aus, Thümler and Honé are pushing for university exchanges

After Brexit and Erasmus-Aus, Thümler and Honé are pushing for university exchanges

After Brexit and Erasmus-Aus, Thümler and Honé are pushing for university exchanges

Lower Saxony’s state government is concerned about the expiry of the “Erasmus” exchange program between the European Union and the United Kingdom. “I very much regret the planned withdrawal of the British from the program,” said Lower Saxony Science Minister Björn Thümler. “It is an anachronism when young people are placed in the way of international exchange at a time when the world is growing together,” added Lower Saxony’s European Minister Birgit Honé. Honé warned that it is not precisely the young people who should become the main victims of the Brexit consequences. In the UK, the majority of the younger generation voted against leaving. In particular, students from the EU, including Lower Saxony, threatened to be worse off in the future.

After the agreement on a post-Brexit agreement, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Christmas Eve that Great Britain would leave the European program after three decades. “We are losing an important partner country in the EU that is home to many renowned universities. The exit will put higher hurdles in the way of the student exchange and, in addition to higher costs, will probably mean more bureaucracy, ”said Thümler.

Thümler and Honé emphasized that Lower Saxony would campaign for the further close exchange and would like to expand the existing cooperation. “At the beginning of 2020, we already placed a special focus on projects with Scottish universities,” said Thümler. Last September, the State University Conference and the University Association Universities Scotland signed a university collaboration between Lower Saxony and Scotland. The Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture has since invested around 260,000 euros in strengthening joint research and teaching projects. The universities of Lüneburg and Glasgow have founded a joint research institution with the European Center for Advanced Studies (ECAS). “We will continue to strengthen this cooperation in the coming year,” said Thümler.

European Minister Honé supports this course: “In addition to the academic gain, Erasmus + brings young Europeans together and lets them experience the added value of international exchange,” said the Minister. She will work both locally and in Berlin and Brussels to ensure that studies in the United Kingdom remain possible: “It must not be that our own students are now the victims of Brexit. They must still be able to study in the UK regardless of their parents’ budget, ”said the Minister. Lower Saxony cannot afford to go backwards in terms of internationality, foreign language acquisition and intercultural competence. The historically close ties between Lower Saxony and the United Kingdom must also be strengthened.


background

With the exit from the European Union, the United Kingdom also left the Erasmus program. In contrast, it will continue to participate in research programs, including the “Horizon Europe” program. For those students who started their studies there before January 1, 2021, little changes at first. They are allowed to finish their studies on the same terms as they started. You are still entitled to so-called home fees, i.e. the same tuition fees as local students, and the same financial support. However, they must also have a student visa by June 30, 2021. Because from 2021 onwards, students will need a visa for stays of six months or more.

In the future, however, Erasmus stays in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will no longer be possible for students from Lower Saxony. EU students starting in July 2021/2022 will no longer be entitled to the same tuition fees as UK students in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The so-called home fee status does not apply.

Erasmus is the exchange program for education, training, youth and sport of the European. The aim is that living, learning and working in a European country other than your own become a matter of course. Overall, the number of EU students in the UK is currently estimated at around 150,000. British Prime Minister Johnson has announced a national follow-up program for students from the UK.


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