topic Education

Lifelong Learning Programme: European education programme for all

The EU Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP) was launched on 1 January 2007. With a budget of almost 7 billion euros, the biggest European education programme to date is funding European exchanges of learners and teachers in all age groups and European cooperation of education institutions over the period 2007 to 2013.

The programme supports European cooperation in education policy and contributes in particular to implementing the objectives of the Copenhagen Declaration in the area of vocational training and of the Bologna process in higher education. It pools the former programmes LEONARDO DA VINCI and SOCRATES under one umbrella.

In addition to the 27 EU states,Turkey, Croatia, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Switzerland take part in the programme. The Lifelong Learning Programme covers the lifelong educational career from school to higher education or vocational training to adult education. The different areas of education are reflected in the four pillars Comenius, Leonardo da Vinci, Erasmus and Grundtvig:

COMENIUS

The individual programme COMENIUS is geared primarily to schools and - under certain conditions - to training institutions. Funding is provided for example for school twinnings, students staying abroad, teaching assistances in other european countries for teachers in training, and continued education for teachers. At least 3 million school students are expected to in joint education activities during the programme period.

Further information on the individual programme COMENIUS is provided on the Internet site of the Educational Exchange Service of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (PAD) - National Agency for EU programmes in the school sector, under: http://www.kmk-pad.org/en/the-pad.html.

ERASMUS

The individual programme ERASMUS is geared to institutions of higher education. Funding is provided for student work and study abroad schemes, for the mobility of lecturers, exchanges of information within networks and the development of European curricula. At least 3 million students are expected to have spent part of their study programme abroad by 2013. Further information is available on the Internet site of the DAAD - National Agency for EU Higher Education Programmes, under: http://eu.daad.de.

LEONARDO DA VINCI

The EU vocational training programme LEONARDO DA VINCI fosters European cooperation between companies, chambers, social partners, vocational schools and education institutions. This includes funding for stays abroad by apprentices, students at vocational schools, employees, trainers and vocational school teachers. European vocational education topics are addressed in so-called 'partnerships'. The European transfer of successful concepts and innovations is promoted in innovation transfer projects. Further information is available on the Internet site of the National Agency Education for Europe at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), under: http://www.na-bibb.de/leonardo. 

GRUNDTVIG

The individual programme GRUNDTVIG is geared to all players in adult education. European adult education topics are addressed in so-called 'learning partnerships'. "Multilateral projects" develop innovations for adult education. Another funding priority is the further training of lecturers in adult education in other European countries.The programme is to address the education challenges resulting from the ageing of the population. Furthermore, the programme aims to support adults who want to enhance their knowledge and skills. The target groups of the programme are the elderly and adults without any basic qualification.            
Further information is available on the Internet site of the National Agency Education for Europe at the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB), under: http://www.na-bibb.de/grundtvig_4.html.

TRANSVERSAL PROGRAMME

The individual programmes are completed by a transversal programme with activities in the following priority areas:

·  political cooperation and innovation in the context of lifelong learning,

·  language learning if the project spans different educational sectors,

·  information and communication technologies measures if the project spans different educational sectors,

·  dissemination concepts for projects results.

More information on the transversal programme is available on the following websites:
http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc40_en.htm
http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/index_en.php

STUDY VISIT PROGRAMME

Furthermore, the study visit programme forms part of the activities of the transversal programme. It enables multipliers and politifcal decision-makers fro th whole field of education to participate in thematic study visits in another country.

NEW GENERATION OF PROGRAMMES 2014 - 2020

The future of the EU education programmes beyond 2013 is currently being prepared and negotiated. The comprehensive interim evaluation by the European Union and the Member States has demonstrated the clear European value added of the proramme. We must now buildon the success and lessons learned from the current programme generation and orient the new generation of education programmes towards the current challenges in Europe.

Following a boad consultation process with the key players in education policy, the Federal Government has stated its position in a national position paper on the future of the programmes. The detailed content of the position paper is availale under: http://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/veroeffentlichungen_beschluesse/2011/2011_00_00-EU-Programme-fuer-Bildung.pdf.