“Fine Gael MEP Seán Kelly says Ireland could attract up to 16,000 more Erasmus students following the UK’s decision to leave the programme. He’s calling on Irish third level institutions to seize the opportunity of now being the biggest English-speaking destination in the EU …” (more)
[James Cox, BreakingNews.ie, 20 January]
“I’m thinking of studying an undergraduate course in a UK university in September 2021. Following Brexit, I’m having difficulty establishing what fees I’ll have to pay. Could you clarify what the situation is for Irish students? … (more)
[Brian Mooney, Irish Times, 19 January]
“Irish colleges can get an unexpected boost this year, thanks to Brexit. Ireland South MEP Sean Kelly says over 100,000 EU students came to Britain last year to study under the Erasmus programme …” (more)
[Radio Kerry, 18 January]
“Rector Magnificus of the University of Amsterdam, Professor Karen Maex, has called on European Commissioners to propose a ‘Digital University Act’ to secure universities’ status as independent education and research institutions and vital building blocks for the organisation of knowledge and to defend them against pressures from big tech companies …” (more)
[Jan Petter Myklebust, University World News, 16 January]
“Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide information and clarity regarding the prospects of third-level students of studying abroad in the 2021-2022 academic year given the current Covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 14 January]
“The number of Trinity students choosing to study abroad this year has taken a significant hit amid concerns over Covid-19. Only 159 students are travelling abroad on an Erasmus exchange this semester, which is a major drop compared to the usual uptake of the programme. Similarly, only 45 students are on an international non-EU exchange this term …” (more)
[Lauren Boland, Trinity News, 12 January]
“The loss of UK access to the Erasmus+ programme post-Brexit has inspired widespread sadness and anger in the UK. The reactions have run the gamut of ‘Erasmus changed my life’ to ‘it will blow a hole in the UK economy’, ‘many employers deeply value the kind of international experience the Erasmus scheme helps foster’ and regret for losing out on the chance of ‘ensuring that we are viewed as an open, tolerant and welcoming country to the rest of the world’ …” (more)
[Anne Corbett, University World News, 1 January]
“Sir, – The proposal to spend €2.1 million of tax money to fund Northern Irish students on the Erasmus scheme is unacceptable. The idea that our Government could contemplate funding students in the UK …” (more)
[Letters, Irish Times, 31 December]
“Ireland historically had low take up of programme – says Cork based MEP Deirdre Clune, but budget available for Erasmus expected to double over the coming years, so now is the time to ramp up numbers …” (more)
[Elaine Murphy, TheCork.ie, 30 December]
“The two local universities are considering taking advantage of a new UK student foreign exchange programme while also being able to avail of the EU’s Erasmus scheme. The UK’s withdrawal from Erasmus has been described as a huge blow by the other devolved nations, which will no longer be able to participate …” (more)
[Mark Bain, Belfast Telegraph, 29 December]
“The decision for the UK to withdraw from the Erasmus student exchange programme has been described as ‘a huge blow’ by the Scottish Government’s Universities Minister. Richard Lochhead lamented the decision to leave the scheme as part of the UK leaving the European Union …” (more)
[Douglas Barrie, Belfast Telegraph, 28 December]
“The news that the UK is to leave the Erasmus+ scheme for student exchanges shouldn’t have come as a surprise. After all, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson explicitly promised in the House of Commons that it wouldn’t happen and what he says is virtually guaranteed to be the opposite of the truth …” (more)
[In the Dark, 27 December]
“Third level students from Northern Ireland colleges will continue to be able to study in Europe under the Erasmus+ scheme after the UK leaves the EU because the Irish Government will fund them. The estimated cost will be around €2.1m per year …” (more)
[Vincent Kearney, RTÉ News, 26 December]
“Its loss would have little material effect on the lives of most British citizens and the talks on its future were understandably overshadowed by the larger stand-off over the long-term trading relationship between the European Union and the UK. Yet there was something profoundly sad about the news, announced last week and barely noted in parts of the British media, that the UK was unlikely to remain in the Erasmus study abroad scheme …” (more)
[Ruadhán Mac Cormaic, Irish Times, 26 December]
“A replacement for the Erasmus study exchange scheme will begin next September, the government says, amid an outcry over the ‘short-sighted and mean-spirited’ decision to pull out of it. The Brexit deal will end UK participation in the much-praised programme – despite Boris Johnson vowing, in the Commons, that his plans posed ‘no threat’ to it …” (more)
[Rob Merrick, Independent, 26 December]
“Students at NI universities can continue to participate in the Erasmus scheme under an arrangement with the Irish government. Erasmus is an EU programme that helps students study in other countries. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that the UK will not continue to participate in it and will be replacing it with a new scheme …” (more)
[John Campbell, BBC News NI, 24 December]
“The Erasmus student exchange programme will be replaced in the UK by a worldwide scheme named after code breaker Alan Turing, the Prime Minister has said. Speaking after the announcement of a trade deal between the UK and the European Union, Boris Johnson said the UK had made a ‘tough decision’ to pull out of the programme for financial reasons …” (more)
[Jess Glass, Belfast Telegraph, 24 December]
“British students will no longer be able to participate in the Erasmus exchange programme under the Brexit deal agreed by Boris Johnson. Speaking at a press conference after the deal was agreed, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said: ‘The British government decided not to participate in the Erasmus exchange programme’. At the press conference on the new deal, Boris Johnson ‘it was a tough decision’ to leave the scheme …” (more)
[Jon Stone and Bethany Dawson, Independent, 24 December]
“The end of this year marks the close of the European Union’s massive 2014–20 research programme, Horizon 2020. Over the past six years, more than 150,000 participants – including research institutes, companies and individual scientists – have collectively received almost €60 billion (US$73.5 billion) in research funding …” (more)
[Quirin Schiermeier, Nature, 22 December]
“University staff and students remain ‘in the dark’ about whether they will be able to access vital research funding and take part in exchange opportunities when Britain leaves the EU. Higher education leaders are calling on the Government to prioritise full participation in the Erasmus+ exchange scheme and the Horizon Europe research funding programme as a no-deal Brexit looms …” (more)
[Eleanor Busby, Belfast Telegraph, 12 December]
