A renewed foundation for a long-term UK-EU partnership in education, research and innovation
29 May 2026
Professors Chris Day, Peter Mathieson, Karen O’Brien, Evelyn Welch and Shearer West
Vice-Chancellors of the Universities of Newcastle, Edinburgh, Durham, Bristol and Leeds, respectively
Erasmus+ turns 40 next year – and we are delighted that the UK is rejoining in time for the anniversary. With Switzerland set to associate too, the whole Coimbra Group will be in both Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe for the first time in 14 years.
This is good news for young people, researchers and universities. Erasmus+ students have brought a huge amount to UK campuses and classes and we are eager to welcome them again. For our universities, this is not just about giving people the opportunity to study or work abroad: the programme drives all kinds of pan-European networks, sparking research partnerships, new technologies and ultimately benefiting all our economies and societies.
Today’s exchange students can be tomorrow’s international citizens and maybe even research collaborators, making Erasmus+ a vital part of a bigger picture, alongside Horizon Europe. The UK’s Russell Group hears almost as much from universities about the benefits Erasmus+ offers staff as well as students. It’s an opportunity for some creative thinking: for instance, Erasmus+ staff mobility can support participation in Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) research teams. We should look at efforts to plug the UK back into various EU programmes. We are optimistic that the clear signals from the current UK Government of the UK’s intent to associate to Erasmus+ from 2028 will support institutions to maximise take-up now.
Maximising participation in Erasmus+ from a standing start and in Horizon (where Pillar II participation has a long way to go) is an opportunity to seize, not just a challenge to get right. The same can be said of their future from 2028. Horizon Europe has now gone global, with countries from Canada to Korea signing up. This helps make Europe a focal point for worldwide R&I. MSCA Choose Europe for Science builds on this by attracting researchers to our continent. Erasmus+’s soft power and the human connections it fosters complement this focus. Some of us are already members of European University Alliances: the place of these Alliances in the future of Erasmus+ still needs to be defined (and it is noteworthy that UK members have so far not received any funding, either from the EU or from home governments, so that our participation so far has been driven by collaborative intent rather than financial gain).
We hope, therefore, that the European Commission will build on its far-sighted and successful commitment to open programmes, maximising Europe’s power of attraction to the world at large. Allowing more Erasmus+ exchanges with non-associated countries would widen young people’s opportunities and showcase Europe to more of the world. Greater short-term mobility opportunities would also allow more young people to experience the rest of Europe – especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Although the Turing Scheme, which the UK Government introduced as a substitute during the years of the UK’s exclusion from Erasmus, did not have adequate funding to be able to fully deliver its aims, it did have some merits including a focus on less advantaged students and a truly global perspective.
An open, research-led Horizon Europe from 2028 will also be important. This includes a bottom-up and curiosity-driven Pillar I, with an independent ERC and open MSCA calls. It also includes a clearly research-led Pillar II, where associated countries like Switzerland and the UK can play their full role with EU partners. This will also provide the best possible pipeline of technologies for the proposed European Competitiveness Fund. Finally, we hope to see a smooth process for association from Day 1 (avoiding the damaging delays that we experienced previously), minimal exclusions and equal treatment for associated countries.
At a time of increasing global instability, universities’ friendship and support have helped us maintain our long-standing, valued European ties in education, research and innovation. Horizon re-association restored a shared platform for us to grow our research and innovation relationships in 2024. Erasmus+ will do the same for education from 2027. We hope 2028 will be the year we set the seal on a stable, long-term partnership in these world-leading schemes.