Friday, October 1, 2021

Brexit after Erasmus-Os. Through
Scotland applying for new EU grant

With Brexit, Great Britain is leaving the Erasmus exchange programme, with which EU students can easily complete semesters abroad. With fewer and fewer young people applying to Scottish universities, the country is now launching a new scholarship programme.

Scotland has launched a new scholarship program to once again welcome EU students to its universities. “Over the past year we have unfortunately seen a dramatic drop in applications from EU students who wish to study here,” Scottish Higher Education Secretary of State Jamie Hepburn said in a statement. “We want to do everything we can to mitigate the damage Brexit has caused and promote Scotland’s educational offerings around the world.”

The programme, which is funded with £2.25 million (about €2.62 million), aims to financially support hundreds of EU students to study at Scottish universities from this autumn.

This year, 41 percent fewer EU candidates applied to Scottish universities than last year. Across the UK, the decline was even greater, according to data from the Central Registry UCAS (Universities and College Admissions Service).

With Brexit, Great Britain also withdrew from the European Union’s exchange program Erasmus, with which simpler semesters abroad were possible. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government wants to enable British students to live abroad far beyond Europe with the so-called Turing Program. However, foreign students are no longer funded in British universities.

Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon wants to hold another independence referendum and, in the event of a victory, take her country back to the European Union as an independent state from London. Scots voted against Brexit in 2016 with a clear majority