Poland has emerged as the surprise top destination for Turkish students looking to spend a term at a European university.
The number of Turkish nationals spending a semester abroad has increased by more than a fifth as more university students used the Erasmus European exchange programme, which allows them to spend time abroad.
14,412 Turkish students went abroad during the 2012/13 academic year, with more going to Poland – 2,705 – than any other country. Poland was followed by Germany with 2,472 students, Italy on 1,207 and 1,059 traveling to Spain.
Britain was a less popular for Turkish students, with just 617 spending a term at universities here, mostly in London.
Even fewer British students – 95 – took the opportunity for a reverse journey and spend a term at a Turkish university. In total, 6,145 European students used Erasmus to study in Turkey.
The Erasmus Programme (European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students[1]) is a European Union (EU) student exchange programme established in 1987. Erasmus+, or Erasmus Plus, is the new programme combining all the EU’s current schemes for education, training, youth and sport, due to begin in January 2014.
The most popular destinations proved to be Spain, Germany and France. The countries that sent the highest percentage of its student population to another member state were Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Finland and Latvia. However, in absolute terms Spain saw the highest number of students – nearly 40,000 – venture across the border, followed by Germany, Italy and Poland.
The average Erasmus grant, designed to cover part of the costs of living abroad and travel, was €272 (£215) per month, a 9% increase on the previous year. The grant is topped up in some countries by national, regional or institutional funds.