The Learned Society of Wales has welcomed the decision of the Welsh Government to establish Wales’ own version of the Erasmus+ education exchange programme.

The £65m plan will run alongside the UK-wide Turing scheme but allow for reciprocal student and staff exchanges between Welsh and international institutions that are not part of the Turing scheme.

In January, we expressed our disappointment that the UK Government had chosen not to participate in the Erasmus+ programme.  We had previously highlighted the value of Erasmus+ to schools, students, academics and universities in Wales and made clear our belief that Wales benefitted from involvement in the programme.

The decision to introduce a new made-for-Wales programme, therefore, is a positive step that will benefit Wales’ students, researchers and universities.

Professor Helen Fulton, Vice-President (Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences) for the Learned Society of Wales, said:

“In a bilingual country such as Wales, it’s all the more important that students of all ages and backgrounds are given opportunities to study in the EU.

“Welsh society and culture will benefit as well from reciprocal visits and continuing links with multilingual Europe.”