I regard the Erasmus exchange as the latest stage in a process of European integration that started during the Middle Ages, when a number of young people expatriated to get a better education. For example, Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Beckett, studied law at the University of Bologna around 1145.
Modernity accelerated this trend and in the 16th century many childrenof the English aristocracy undertook journeys to Italy. This was necessary for the politics and diplomacy of the day: a cosmopolitan elite – with a firm command of foreign languages and customs – was needed to steer the country.
This phenomenon climaxed in the early modern period, with the inception of what the 17th century travel writer Richard Lassels would subsequently label the “Grand Tour” in his 1670 The Voyage of Italy.
...Like the Grand Tour, Erasmus exchanges are a laboratory in which we are experimenting with the future of Europe. Established in 1987, two years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Erasmus programme is now a major aspect – together with other non-European exchanges – of what we call the internationalisation of European universities.
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Studying abroad is a great opportunity to learn by experience. When they come back from Erasmus, students are different. Living in a different country is a fundamental aspect of a Euro-education, so let us be brave and resolutely invest in the European project.
