There will now be an Erasmus+ mobile app available to all students coming to the European Union under the program, according to an announcement made by the European Commission, Schengen-Visa.com reports.
According to the announcement, the new app, which will be available on Android and IOS systems, will be able to help students by:
- Allowing them to browse and select their destination among their university’s partners.
- Letting them sign their online learning agreement on the app.
- Helping them find out about events at their destination and useful tips about it.
- Providing an interface in which students can contact other students at their destination.
- Allowing them to obtain their European Student Card, which will give them access to museums, services, cultural activities, and special deals in their host country and university.
The app will be available in all EU languages and will provide a European Student Card to all incoming students.
Further, the app will aid in the broader initiative of eliminating paper use in the Erasmus program.
So far, over 4,000 European universities are involved in the Erasmus Without Paper Network, an initiative to eliminate costly and wasteful paper use in the Erasmus program. The network allows universities and students to securely exchange data and easily identify learning agreements.
The new Erasmus+ app will be quickly rolled out because of the large number of universities in the paperless network. This will further the quick and widespread recognition of the European Student Card.
One of the main goals for creating the app is to further eliminate the use of paper in the Erasmus program. Another is that it will allow students a more integrated, user-friendly way of exploring their options, and giving them a universal card that will allow them access to things that might have been more complicated to gain access to before.
“Paper officially belongs to the past. This new Erasmus+ app will be a one-stop shop for mobile Erasmus+ students. Having all the information at your fingertips means less stress, less time spent on administrative requirements, and more flexibility. The European Student Card, available through the app, is an important step towards a true European Education Area. One where each student feels included and can get access to the same services and same recognition of their educational background,” said Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education, and Youth.
Another goal of the app and the transformation of the Erasmus program itself is to make the program more digital-friendly as students and Studienkolleg participants become more tech-savvy, as well as overhaul the broader European education system to become more digitally oriented.
“I am glad that the interface of our flagship program for young people, Erasmus+, is becoming more like them. More digital, more mobile, and more community-oriented. The new app and its embedded Student Card are emblematic of the European Education Area we stand for,” said Margaritis Schinas, the Commission’s Vice President for Promoting European Way of Life.
The Erasmus program is the European Union’s student exchange program. Under it, European students can go and study abroad for 1 or more semesters, and in exchange, a foreign student can come and study in a European university participating in the program.
