The Lifelong Learning Program is the flagship European funding programme in the field of education and training. The Lifelong Learning Program covers the period 2007-2013, and is the successor to the Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci and eLearning programmes.

The Life Long Learning Program supports learning opportunities from childhood to old age in every single life situation. Grants and subsidies are awarded to projects and activities that foster interchange, promote bilateral and multilateral partnerships, foster trans-national mobility of individuals and promote quality in education and training systems throughout Europe.

The higher education section "ERASMUS" is named after the philosopher, theologian and humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam (1465-1536). An untiring adversary of dogmatic thought in all fields of human endeavour, Erasmus lived and worked in several parts of Europe, in quest of the knowledge, experience and insights which only such contacts with other countries could bring.

ERASMUS Program contains a wide range of measures designed to support the European activities of higher education institutions and to promote the mobility and exchange of their teaching staff and students.

The ERASMUS program offers the possibility of studying abroad in another European country for a period of between 3 and 12 months.

Inspired by a mobility tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages, the Erasmus program and its different activities henceforth fit into the mobility policy promoted by the Bologna Process, which aims at the creation of a European Higher Education Area by 2010.

Higher education plays a crucial role in producing high quality human resources, disseminating scientific discovery and advanced knowledge through teaching, adapting to the constantly emerging needs for new competences and qualifications, and educating future generations of citizens in a European context. All such functions are of vital importance to the long-term development of Europe.

Inspired by a mobility tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages, the Erasmus action and its different activities henceforth fit into the mobility policy promoted by the Bologna Process, which aims at the creation of a European Higher Education Area by 2010.