When the Coimbra Group was founded in 1985 , the Erasmus Programme didn’t exist yet, but a bold vision for academic cooperation was already in motion.
In September 1986, at our first General Assembly at Aarhus University, member universities laid the groundwork for a European student and staff mobility network. Just two months later, in KU Leuven, Coimbra Group rectors sent a telegram to European Ministers of Education urging them to support what would soon become the Erasmus Programme (officially launched in 1987).
From there, the story took flight:
– The MOSAIC (Movement of Students Aiming at Integration of the Coimbra Group), a student-led initiative, fostered grassroots mobility and engagement.
– Seminars in University of Bologna (Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna), Università di Siena, and The Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg shaped some of the first collaborative Erasmus projects, starting as early as 1988/89.
– In 1988, the joint General Assembly in University of Galway and Trinity College Dublin reaffirmed our Erasmus commitment and strengthened collaboration between international offices at Coimbra Group universities.
By 1989, CG universities were co-developing Erasmus-supported initiatives, from mobility schemes and joint programmes to tuition waivers and intensive language courses.
But the love story didn’t stop there:
– We have deepened ties with Latin America, culminating in the 1992 Declaración de Granada, which advocated for Latin American inclusion in the Erasmus programme.
– In 2003, led by Prof. Luigi Donà dalle Rose (Università degli Studi di Padova), we launched the first Erasmus+ survey of CG activity. The most recent results are striking: over 16% of all Erasmus+ grants go to or from Coimbra Group universities.
– In 2021, we partnered with Eurail to promote greener Erasmus+ travel through discounted Interrail passes.
And when challenges arose – like Brexit – we stood united, reaffirming our commitment to collaboration without borders.
For four decades, the Coimbra Group and Erasmus have grown side by side, transforming lives, empowering educators and students, and spreading values of inclusion, democracy, and European solidarity. 40 years of shared vision, mutual learning, and a partnership that continues to inspire.
