The welcome return of ERASMUS

Regular readers will know that I have been involved with ERASMUS projects for many years. These have included the DigitalEarth project - a huge undertaking involving meetings across Europe, the GeoCapabilities project, I-USE, D3, GI Learner and GI Pedagogy. Search the blog using the name of the project to find out more about them.

Two of these projects involved my current school, and my MFL and ICT colleagues were also involved in gaining funding for their projects as well.

I am currently involved with the EMO-GI project, as recent posts have shown - keep an eye on the project as it develops over the coming two years. I've been blogging about the progress so far. This is an interesting project with some ambitious outputs.

The British Council will be administering the ERASMUS+ funding on behalf of the UK as they did before we made the decision to leave the EU.

I recommend that you sign up to a newsletter to receive updates as we begin to find out more about what sort of funding will be possible for your school.

If you do sign up, you'll receive this message:

As the UK’s National Agency, the British Council will work with partners across education, youth and sport to deliver inclusive, high-quality opportunities for learners and professionals from all backgrounds.

We’ll keep you updated with:

• Key dates and timelines
• Information on eligibility
• Guidance on how to apply
• Stories and examples to help you prepare

International experience builds confidence. It builds skills. It builds futures.

I'm hoping to be involved with ERASMUS projects for some years to come, and am always available to add my expertise to projects.

Happy 30th birthday to Erasmus+

Erasmus is 30 years old.

It's facilitated the meeting of millions of teachers and students from across Europe, and I've benefitted from it in many ways over the years. I first got involved with Erasmus through Karl Donert, the President of EuroGeo, and who has spent many years travelling Europe.
He asked me to take part in a project called digitalearth towards the end of my time with the Geographical Association. He was keen to get the GA to engage with this European network of teachers, and there was the first of a few opportunities to do that with this network. The digitalearth project has had a great legacy...

This took me to Salzburg, back in January 2011, for the first of many meetings and training courses. I found myself in a 3 day meeting with university professors, Headteachers and people with particular skillsets I'd not encountered before. It was a little scary, but also exciting, and we had some interesting cultural events as part of the meeting - a pattern that has been particularly important as my Erasmus participation has continued...


Image: Michaela Lindner-Fally

I've spent several months of my life since in various cities around Europe. I've worked at Salzburg University quite a few times, running courses with teachers from lots of different countries, learning from them as much as they learned from me.

Here's a picture from Simo Tolvanen, one of a large group of Finnish teachers I had the pleasure of working with at Z-GIS in Salzburg.
I've visited Stockholm - sailing there on a boat through the frozen Baltic and stopping in at Estonia en route. I've scaled snowy peaks, eaten fine foods, seen art and heard guggenmusic, baked in the heat of an Alentejan summer, swum in the Mediterranean, walked on a frozen lake, wandered unfamiliar cities in the early hours of the morning, and discovered a hidden bottle of Ardbeg whisky in the most unlikely of hotels. I've seen Romanian tower blocks, sung Finnish karaoke, navigated out of an underground car park in Ghent, and seen the Acropolis at sunset and two Olympics stadia...
I've been involved in 5 Erasmus Funded projects and a range of Erasmus funded courses... and several other failed bids for project funding...
I hope to be involved in a whole lot more adventures in the future....
My school is currently involved in an ERASMUS funded project called GI Learner 

I recommend you find out more about the scheme and try and get involved.. assuming UK partners will still be welcome after Brexit... 

In the upstairs room at Zum Eulenspiegel, Salzburg