Awarding of Erasmus+ grants 2017

Rannís has allocated around €3.5 million, or nearly 400 million krónur, in study and training grants from the education section of Erasmus+, the European Union's education and youth programme. The funding was allocated to 63 projects, and this time, more than a thousand individuals from schools, educational providers and companies are benefiting from the grants. Grants have increased steadily in recent years, with vocational training in particular seeing a significant rise. However, it is the higher education sector that receives the largest grants. A total of 77 applications for grants were received, amounting to just over 700 million króna. The largest increase in applicants was in the vocational training category, but the largest number of applications, 42, was received in the school category.

Study and training programmes offer students and staff of schools at all levels, educational institutions, and companies involved in education the opportunity to undertake part of their studies or receive professional training and teaching in 33 countries in Europe. In addition, universities can apply for partnership grants with countries outside Europe. As in previous years, the highest grants were awarded to the University of Iceland, the Iceland Academy of the Arts, Reykjavík University and the Technical College of Iceland. Borgarholtsskóli also performed strongly this time.  The Association of Municipalities in the Capital Region received a large grant to strengthen cooperation between the municipalities regarding the reception of refugees, and in adult education, grants were awarded to enhance the training of people who work with disabled people and people with intellectual disabilities. It is also worth mentioning that the City of Hafnarfjörður applied for a grant on behalf of all the town's primary schools to send staff from the school libraries on a course abroad.

The Erasmus+ Education and Youth Programme of the European Union is the world's largest programme in this field. In 2017, Iceland receives around 8 million euros, or just over 900 million krónur, for project grants in the fields of education and youth affairs, of which approximately 650 million krónur are for the education sector. The aims of the Erasmus+ programme in education are to promote innovation and development in European education systems, partly by supporting projects that aim to strengthen key skills such as literacy and numeracy, foster students' creativity and entrepreneurship, combat school drop-out, integrate information and communication technology, enhance the role of school libraries and generally improve the quality of education at all levels and in the world of work.

Overview of allocated grants by school level*

Play, primary and secondary schools

31 schools, local authorities and companies operating in the nursery, primary and secondary education sectors were awarded a total of €328,718. The following received grants:

Vocational training

Fourteen vocational education schools and institutions were allocated a total of €749,720. The following received grants:

Universities

The University of Akureyri, The University of Bifröst, The University of Iceland, The University of Reykjavík, Háskólinn á Hólum, Landbúnaðarháskóli Íslands at Hvanneyri and Listaháskóli Íslands receive a total of €1,900,000 for traditional student and staff exchanges. In addition, funding was allocated from the so-called “international' part of Erasmus+. In this category, the universities were allocated €398,001 for a project to strengthen ties with universities outside Europe.

2017 Erasmus+ Higher Education Key Action: Partnerships with non-European countries

Adult education

 Six organisations within the adult education sector received a total of €72,350. The following organisations received grants:

Information is published subject to typographical errors.