Celebrating 35 years of existence, the Erasmus programme has marked indelibly the life of NOVA and of Higher Education institutions.
Founding institution of the educational mobility programme, since 1987 NOVA has been offering opportunities to students, teachers and professionals in higher education.
João Amaro de Matos, Vice-Rector of Universidade Nova de Lisboa, considers Erasmus is "one of the most remarkable success stories of the European Union, doing more for the European construction than any treaty". For the responsible for International Education and Development at NOVA, "as a founding institution of the programme, we share its strong emphasis on inclusion, digital transition and sustainability".
Also at NOVA, the most recent Erasmus figures illustrate well its impact: only in the last multi-annual period (2014-2020), NOVA was involved in 83 Erasmus projects, 27 of these as coordinator - with direct responsibility exceeding 14M euros - also acting in the remaining 56 as partner beneficiary.
Counting only this academic year, it is expected the mobility of more than 1200 students, teachers and professionals from NOVA, welcoming the University 1400 people from all continents.
Regarding the period that extends until 2027, we can also add that NOVA shares the intense focus of Erasmus on social inclusion, ecological and digital transitions, as well as on the promotion of citizenship and European values.
The programme, which currently has a global annual budget of more than 3.74 billion euros, was launched 35 years ago, paying homage to Erasmus of Rotterdam, a Renaissance figure who travelled throughout Europe - it is also an acronym for European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students.
Over the years it has been revised and expanded, renamed Erasmus+ to mark the extension to all fields of education, as well as youth and sport, and in 2021 further broadened in geographical and sectoral scope.
Today, Erasmus+ covers cooperation and mobility opportunities for students and teachers, vocational education and training, higher education and adult learning, as well as projects for apprentices, young people, youth workers and even - as of 2023 - sports coaches.