Erasmus+: European Commission launches call for proposals for digital education, creativity and culture



The European Commission responds to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic with an additional call: Projects on the topics of "Digital education" in school, vocational and higher education and "Creativity and culture" in school education, adult education and the youth sector can now be submitted. As the national agency for the implementation of Erasmus+ Education in Austria the OeAD is also responsible for this call and thus supports the internationalisation of Austria as a location for education.
Federal Minister Heinz Faßmann is pleased to say: "Although Erasmus+ is also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic when it comes to international educational mobility the EU programme can at the same time help to emerge from the crisis together with innovative and creative approaches. I very much welcome the fact that Erasmus+ supports our efforts to make Austria’s school, vocational and higher education fit for digital teaching". Faßmann emphasises: "The great number of international cooperation partnerships of Austrian schools and educational institutions within the framework of Erasmus+ are continuing regardless of the pandemic and are more important than ever!”
The OeAD’s managing director Jakob Calice emphasises: "For Austria this call means an additional 3.3 million euros in EU funding. With the additional Erasmus+ call we have numerous opportunities to prepare education and training systems for a shift to online and distance learning. With Erasmus+ projects educational institutions all over Europe can learn from each other right now and especially in their digitisation efforts". A second priority is to promote creativity and culture, a sector that has been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 crisis. "We are looking for projects that use creative and cultural aspects to strengthen young people’s and professionals’ creative potential," Calice says. The aim is to create a sustainable link between actors in education, training and youth and the cultural and creative sector. The maximum project funding is 300,000 euros per project, and projects can last between 12 and 24 months.
Further information about the call
OeAD initiated dialogue with European mobility agencies and European institutions
The OeAD initiated an informal dialogue with 22 European mobility agencies and the political leaders of the European institutions on the new programme on August 25th and 26th. The Erasmus+ Retreat was organised jointly with the German Presidency of the EU Council. During the virtual meeting Petra Kammerevert (member of the Committee on Culture and Education of the European Parliament), Sophia Eriksson-Waterschoot (responsible director of the European Commission), Maria Höchstädter (Permanent Representation of Germany, chairwoman of the Education Committee), Jakob Calice (OeAD Managing Director) and Ernst Gesslbauer (Director of the Erasmus+ Education Programme, OeAD) as well as representatives of the European education agencies and the Austrian Ministry of Education, Science and Research exchanged points of view. The expectations regarding the new Erasmus+ programme are generally high. In the future it should not only play an important part in meeting existing challenges but also new ones. Calice: "The additional call of the European Commission is already a clear sign of this.
Easier access and Green Erasmus as of 2021
While the current programme generation of the Erasmus+ programme still focuses strongly on employability the future programme starting in 2021 will be dominated by topics such as inclusion and "Green Erasmus". "What we need most in terms of mobility is flexibility – especially in times of COVID-19. Flexibility to combine physical and virtual mobility, flexibility to respond to the different needs of different participants and sectors, flexibility regarding the duration of mobility," says Ernst Gesslbauer, Director of Erasmus+ Education at the OeAD. Existing platforms and networks (e.g. eTwinning and EPALE) can be used in combination with mobility to share experiences and learn together.
Erasmus+ Education in Austria
Responsible for the implementation of "Erasmus+ Education" in Austria is the OeAD as national agency commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) and the European Commission.
The EU programme Erasmus+ and its predecessor programmes have mobilised more than ten million people since 1987. Among them more than a quarter of a million Austrians who have learned, studied, taught, pursued research or completed a work placement abroad since Austria’s participation in 1992. Official preparations at the European level for the next programme period (2021-2027) are currently in full swing.