MEGA

The Million of Erasmus Grants (MEGA) project’s ambition is to create and develop a digital tool that will simplify the management of Erasmus+ mobility grants at university level and secure the payment of these grants to the students concerned, both in terms of accuracy and calendar.

Started: 2022

Funding: Erasmus+ Key Action 2

Project budget: 258,847 EUR

Length: 3 years

Partners: 8

projects.uni-foundation.eu/mega/

Erasmus grant management is an inherently delicate topic. Up to now it has been up to each individual HEI to organise its own Erasmus grants payment system, which involves the risk of dissimilar treatment of students at European level but also other risks such as delays of payment that create undue difficulties for the beneficiaries. The increasing number of grants offered by the Erasmus+ programme confirms the value of providing a timely analysis of possible economies of scale in this area, some of which should benefit the participating student by reducing the average time or complexity of the payment procedure.

Taking into account this context, MEGA project aims to:

  • Carry out a research on how Erasmus programme grants are managed in different HEIs and European countries, eliciting quantitative data on average delays or other relevant indicators and highlighting the trigger points delaying the payments.
  • Develop and test a PoC of a digital platform for grant management, which would work in synergy with other existing tools (EWP, OLA, Erasmus APP, European student card initiative)
  • Publish policy recommendations on the findings of the project, to feed them into the mid-term review of the programme and to establish a dialogue with stakeholders regarding the deployment of a more performante Erasmus grant system.

The MEGA project has the intention to help to promote equal opportunities for the beneficiaries by facilitating and securing the procedures that support students’ mobility. The project will ensure that the payment of Erasmus grants is based on fairness and efficiency so that all students can get the full benefits of their Erasmus mobility.

Partners: Université de Lorraine, Mendel University in Brno, Selcuk University, Hogskulen pa Vestlandet, Instituto Politecnico de Coimbra, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Universiteti Publik Kadri Zeka, European University Foundation.