Dr Anna Mastrogianni (Assistant Professor of Latin) acts as co-ordinator of the Lifelong Learning/Erasmus+ programme on behalf of the Department of Greek Philology. For further information (regarding administration paperwork, accommodation, residence permit, health care and insurance, cost of living) incoming students should visit the Erasmus+ site of the Democritus University of Thrace.

General Information

The Erasmus+ Programme (European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students), a.k.a. Erasmus Project is a European Union (EU) student exchange programme established in 1987. It forms a major part of the EU Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013, and is the operational framework for the European Commission’s initiatives in higher education. ERASMUS+ is the EU’s flagship education and training programme enabling 200.000 students to study and work abroad each year. In addition, it funds co-operation between higher education institutions across Europe. The programme not only supports students, but also professors who want to teach abroad. Many studies show that a period spent abroad not only enriches students’ lives in the academic and professional fields, but can also improve language learning, intercultural skills, self-reliance and self-awareness. Their experiences give students a better sense of what it means to be a European citizen. In addition, many employers highly value such a period abroad, which increases the students’ employability and job prospects. Staff exchanges have similar beneficial effects, both for the people participating and for the home and host institutions. Few, if any, programmes launched by the European Union have had a similar Europe-wide reach as the ERASMUS+ Programme. The vast majority of European universities take part in ERASMUS+. More than 2.2 million students have participated since it started in 1987, as well as 250.000 higher education teachers and other staff since 1997 (this type of exchange was also expanded further in 2007). The annual budget is in excess of 450 million euro; more than 4.000 higher education institutions in 33 countries participate, and more are waiting to join. For more on the Lifelong Learning/Erasmus+ programme see:

http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/doc80_en.htm

http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-programme/doc80_en.htm

Students (both undergraduate and postgraduate) and members of the Teaching and Research Staff of the Department of Greek Philology are able to study/teach for a certain period at universities in other European countries as part of the European Lifelong Learning/ Erasmus+ programme. For a list of cooperating universities, click here [hyperlink]

ECTS

ECTS, the European Community Course Credit Transfer System, was developed by the Commission of the European Communities in order to provide common procedures to guarantee academic recognition of studies abroad. It provides a way of measuring and comparing learning achievements using ECTS credits, and transferring them from one institution to another. The ECTS system is based on the principle of mutual trust and confidence between the participating higher education institutions. Each ERASMUS department adopting the ECTS scheme describes the courses it offers not only in terms of content but also adding credits to each course. ECTS creates curriculum transparency by providing detailed information on the curricula and their relevance towards a degree. It helps academics to make academic recognition decisions thanks to prior agreement on the content of study programmes abroad between students and the home and host institutions. Please follow the links below in order to find more information about:

http://www.aueb.gr/docs/socrates/ECTS%20User%20Guide_10.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc48_en.htm

Dr Anna Mastrogianni (Assistant Professor of Latin) acts as co-ordinator of the Lifelong Learning/Erasmus+ programme on behalf of the Department of Greek Philology.

For further information (regarding administration paperwork, accommodation, residence permit, health care and insurance, cost of living) incoming students should visit the Erasmus site of the Democritus University of Thrace:

http://erasmus.duth.gr/general.html