Along with a few tweaks to the rules
Alongside this morning’s publication of the International Education Strategy, we got the news that the Turing mobility scheme will go ahead in 2026–27, something which had been by no means guaranteed. The UK will be back in Erasmus+ for 2027–28, so it’s anticipated that this will be the final year.
The Department for Education has also released guidance on the scheme’s operation for the coming year (if not the overall budget – last year this was announced in June, with a trim to £78m from having previously been over £100m).
We do get confirmation of the funding available for travel to individual destinations, organisational support, and student living costs, none of which for HE has received any inflationary uplift (disclaimer: I haven’t checked every single destination but that’s certainly my impression).
However, the definition of disadvantaged background – and its accompanying eligibility for extra funding – has been raised from household income of £25,000 to £35,000, which if not a typo is a welcome move.
Elsewhere there are a few policy tweaks, which if nothing else show some of the anxieties and aspirations around mobility in a way that’s worth being aware of as we head back towards at least one year of Erasmus+.
For example, in applying it will now be necessary to explain why a certain destination has been chosen:
This explanation must cover student outcomes, strengthening international partnerships, value for money and environmental impact.
Funding allocations will also now take into account “persistent” underspends in previous years, and subcontractor use will need to be “justified”. There’s an additional line about readiness to travel funding for disadvantaged students not being used for purchasing clothes or luggage, and some vague language about being careful not to take international students on mobility to their home country, unless you can explain why it’s necessary.
The overview document for this year changes the previous aim of “advancing social justice” into the more generic “widening opportunity.” And while there were previously two mentions of the fact that Turing funding can’t be spent on Confucius Institute-related activity, now there are three.