Digitalisation is a strategic goal of Erasmus+. A recent EU study examines the worldwide role of the programme in digital education.
Although the connection between Erasmus+ and digitalisation can be traced to the early days of Erasmus in the 1990s, it was only with the transition from Erasmus to Erasmus+, along with digital infrastructure initiatives such as Erasmus Without Paper or the launch of the European Student Card Initiative, that a more robust link between Erasmus+ and digitalisation was established. But essentially, it was the Digital Education Action Plan (2021-2027) that made digital education a strategic goal in the current programme. But with the nearing completion of this action plan and the 2030 Roadmap for digital education and skills soon forthcoming, the European Union published a report: Erasmus+ digital bridges: Enhancing education across Europe and beyond.
Since the Erasmus network extends across 33 European nations and reaches 170 countries globally, it also serves as a platform for international collaboration. In this context, it is used to facilitate global cooperation in digital education. The publication examines Erasmus+’s role in enhancing digital education in the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. It assesses inclusivity, accessibility, and sustainability in relation to digitalisation in education to ensure that every Erasmus+ participant, no matter their background, can equally access digital tools and resources. So, which key findings resulted from the interviews with key stakeholders and Erasmus+ National Focus Points (ENFP), a survey for the participants of the programme and the desk study of data from the ENFP’s centralised support activities?
Many countries within the Sub-Saharan African region exhibit strong policy support to enhance digital education. However, insufficient digital infrastructure or financial limitation of tool acquisition remain challenges. Moreover, reducing digital education to video-conferencing and collaboration software hampers a more profound examination of digitalisation possibilities in the education field. Nevertheless, the ENFPs act as a mediator for the respective countries to inform on their national strategies through a feedback loop through Erasmus+ pilot projects. The region of Latin America and the Caribbean, on the other hand, are similarly affected by infrastructure and financial problems as the Sub-Saharan African region. The findings there reveal that teachers exhibit insufficient digital skills. In addition, the region needs affordable content access via global partnerships, supported by teacher training and consistent funding. And when it comes to the Middle East, digitalisation in education is characterised by significant differences depending on political stability and financial capacities of the respective country. The report highlights how Erasmus+ Capacity Building and International Credit Mobility actions support implementation and underlines the broader trend from planning to actual implementation of large-scale national strategies, that has been observed in that region.
For Asia, the study’s results underscore the key role the Erasmus+ programme takes in transcending national digital-education challenges. Accordingly, there is a desire to utilise the programme to facilitate international collaboration and exchange, provide training and professional development for educators, and secure funding for digital infrastructure, a point also emphasised by the Pacific region. Further, there is also a growing interest using EU-Asia cooperation to enhance digital and AI teaching expertise, which should be accredited through micro-credentials. This also connects to the preferred focus on establishing virtual mobility through massive open online courses (MOOCs) and micro-credentials. In the Pacific region, digitalisation is primarily influenced by geographic isolation. Nevertheless, and in spite of the considerable time zone differences, the collaboration with European experts is regarded as a valuable opportunity facilitated by Erasmus+.
To conclude, this recent publication gives a broad overview of all the national digital education initiatives across the world by listing key policy frameworks, strategies of each country within a region and how Erasmus+ is involved via the ENFPs. But most importantly, this report is a reminder of how Erasmus+ is more than a mere mobility programme restricted to the EU member states. It is also a tool of international cooperation, and thus, also an instrument of soft power and intelligence with the ability of informing policymakers in the EU but also abroad. In this sense, Erasmus+ can be seen as building bridges: digital bridges.