UK to close Turing exchange scheme when it rejoins Erasmus+

The UK’s Turing international exchange scheme will end when the country rejoins Erasmus+, the government has confirmed.

Turing, which has run since 2021, will not operate in the 2027-28 academic year, when the UK will instead take part in the European Union’s flagship programme after a six-year absence.

It brings an end to the UK’s experiment in running its own exchange scheme, which allowed for placements in a wider range of countries around the world but was hampered by bureaucratic hurdles and waning interest.

The government confirmed it would rejoin Erasmus+ in December last year as part of strengthening of ties with the EU, 10 years after the Brexit referendum. Ministers are hoping 100,000 people will benefit in its first year alone, including not just university students but also apprentices, further education students, and adult learners.

The deal is expected to cost more than £570 million a year, although there have been questions about how Erasmus+ will operate in practice, particularly regarding the incoming international student levy.

Critics have suggested that the levy, which will impose a £925 per-student tax on international admissions from 2028, could put universities off participating in Erasmus+ if students on exchange placements are impacted by the fee.

Announcing the end of the scheme in a written statement in the House of Commons, Josh MacAlister, a parliamentary under-secretary in the Department for Education, said that Erasmus+ association will “build on the Turing Scheme’s success in opening up world-class opportunities for learners, educators, young people and communities, while further strengthening our partnership with the European Union”.

“Our renewed participation in Erasmus+ will increase the opportunities available to young people across the UK. We will therefore transition to this broad, expanded Erasmus+ in the 2027-28 academic year, ending the Turing Scheme as Erasmus+ placements begin,” MacAlister added.

Jamie Arrowsmith, director of Universities UK International, said Turing had “played a pivotal role in supporting outward student mobility since 2021, providing funding for over 200,000 UK students to access life-changing international study, work and volunteering experiences”.

“It will therefore be disappointing for many students and universities to hear that the scheme will conclude after next year.”

He continued: “It’s important that the UK remains committed to making international mobility accessible, impactful and sustainable. Our priority now is to work with the government, our members and sector partners to maximise participation in the final year of the Turing scheme – and to ensure that we are able to embrace the UK’s association to Erasmus+ in 2027.”

Johanna Waters, professor of human geography at UCL and co-director of the Migration Research Unit, acknowledged “there were significant problems associated with Turing” but said “it is likely that universities will be extremely disappointed with its closure”.

Despite issues including the scheme’s “cumbersome and time-consuming” administration, Waters said it had been a success in many ways.

“It did provide funding for a greater range of study destinations and has facilitated shorter and more diverse forms of mobilities than the Erasmus+ programme previously had. It has generally been seen as ‘successful’ in terms of widening participation in study abroad, and foregrounding the importance of widening participation,” Waters added.

“Keeping Turing until there is a guarantee of rejoining Erasmus+ in the longer term would, I think, have been the most sensible course of action.”

The Turing scheme was announced in the aftermath of the UK ending its membership of the EU.

Backed by an initial government investment of £110 million – although this had shrunk to £78 million for its final year – the scheme was designed with an emphasis on social mobility, targeting students from backgrounds and areas that hadn’t had much historic interaction with Erasmus+.

Then prime minister Boris Johnson called it “levelling up in action, as the scheme seeks to help students of all income groups from across the country experience fantastic education opportunities in any country they choose”.

However, the scheme faced teething issues, with analysis of its first year in operation finding 79 per cent of universities had had difficulties with the application process.

Education minister Bridget Phillipson last month said she was “delighted” the UK was to participate once more in Erasmus+, although the government has so far only committed to one year’s association.

“This government is going further than ever to promote international collaboration,” she told the Education World Forum, on 18 May.

The DfE has been contacted for further comment.

georgia.luckhurst@timeshighereducation.com