Celebrating 30 years of Erasmus at Surrey
Since records began, the University of Surrey has sent more than 2,000 students to study or work to another part of the EU with Erasmus funding.
The Erasmus programme was launched in 1987 enabling students to study at a higher education institution in another European Union country. In the first year fewer than 1,000 UK students participated. Since then, the programme has developed to include 28 countries in Europe and under the International Credit Mobility stream, nearly all countries in the world.
The programme now also includes work placements, teaching staff exchanges and staff training as well as volunteering opportunities. By 2015/16 more than 40,000 people from the UK had been abroad on the Erasmus+ scheme to study, train, volunteer or gain professional experience.
Erasmus at the University of Surrey
Surrey students have studied at 115 different partner universities and worked in more than 350 different companies. The partner universities have changed throughout the years as our degree programmes and theirs have evolved and companies have also varied, with some taking students every year, e.g. EDF since 2007, and new companies coming on stream every year. Spain, France and Germany remain the most popular destinations for students, with Italy and the Netherlands following closely behind.
We now have 50 active Erasmus partnerships, where students regularly move in both directions. In 2016/17 alone 150 students spent a period of study and/or work in another European country. Nearly all the 27 eligible countries are represented, with most in Spain (604), France (474) and Germany (330) during the 30 years, mirroring the national trends. However, over the years Surrey has seen significant numbers studying and working in Finland (108) with more than half at the University of Turku (63 since 1995).
Our two oldest Erasmus partners are Université Jean Moulin Lyon III in France and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain where we have sent 137 and 118 students respectively since 1994.
Case studies
Read about experiences of our Erasmus alumni:
- 1994 Luther Stone, Chemistry for Europe (France)
- 1996 Reynard Spiess, Chemistry for Europe (Germany)
- 1998 Elizabeth Coleman, French and European Studies (Spain)
- 1998 Petrina Steele, German and Economics with IR ( France, Germany, Spain)
- 1999 Paula Makwana, French and Law (France)
- 2002 Natalie Wojcikiewicz, German and European Studies (Spain, Germany, Austria)
- 2004 Ioanna Apiranthti, MSc EE (Finland)
- 2005 Louise Desmier, Combined Languages (Spain and France)
- 2006 Andy Ellwood, Law and German (Germany)
- 2006 Natalie Bancroft, Law and European Studies (Finland)
- 2007 Ali Mufti, Law and French (France)
- 2009 Sara Fisher, French and Spanish (France and Spain)
- 2009 Timothy Thrower, Law and International Studies (Germany)
- 2010 Lea Santu, Medicinal Chemistry (Germany)
- 2011 Nick Williams, Languages and Contemporary Cultures (Germany)
- 2012 Anastasia Efremenkova, Tourism Management (Austria)
- 2012 Lisa Buddrus, Microbiology (Spain)
- 2012 Philip Waite, Microbiology (Medical) (Italy)
- 2012 Sarah Nnemete, Business Management with Spanish (Spain)
- 2013 Marilyn Johnston, English Literature (France)
- 2013 David Taylor, Law (Holland and Australia)
- 2013 Susana Szegedi, Spanish and Translation (Spain)
- 2014 Rosamund O'Donnell, Law (Finland)
- 2015 Alexander Patton, Aerospace Engineering (Germany)
- 2015 Rebecca Ellerington, Biomedicial Sciences (Belgium)
- 2016 Charlotte Walder, Adult Nursing (Norway)
- 2016 Zoe Hardman, German and Spanish (Germany and Spain)
For more information on ERASMUS Plus check out the ERASMUS website.