The Erasmus impact study, regional analysis : a comparative analysis of the effects of Erasmus on the personality, skills and career of students of European regions and selected countries : executive summary.
Date: 2016-11-23
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture
Subjects: EU programme, comparative analysis, education policy, higher education, impact study, job mobility, labour market, learning, report, student mobility, young person, young worker

 
 
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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016 

Catalogue number: NC-04-15-733-EN-N 
ISBN 978-92-79-52202-4 
doi: 10.2766/264831 

© European Union, 2016 
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 

January 2016 | 1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Erasmus Impact Study 
Regional Analysis 

A Comparative Analysis of the Effects 
of Erasmus on the Personality, Skills and Career 
of students of European Regions and 
Selected Countries 

CHE Consult GmbH 

CHE Consult Prague s.r.o. 

Service Contract signed with the European Commission 

EAC-2014-0551 

Disclaimer 

This document has been prepared for the European  Commission; however, it reflects 
the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any 
use which may be made of the information contained therein. 

January 2016 | 2 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Executive Summary 

What  is  the  objective  and  methodology  of  the  Erasmus  Impact  Study 
Regional Analysis? 

While  the  original  Erasmus  Impact  Study  (EIS)  published  in  2014  looked  at 
aggregated data at the European level, this new study analyses the regional trends in 
the effects of student mobility under the Erasmus programme on employability, skills, 
careers and social lives. The analysis is based on the four regions of Europe: 

Northern 

Southern 

Eastern 

Western 

Although  this  report  uses  and  applies  the  same  raw  data  and  methodology  as  in  the 
original  EIS,  it  adds  some  new  aspects  of  analysis.  In  total,  the  sample  for  this 
study analyses 71,368 individual responses. 

Why do students take part in Erasmus? 

Overall,  at  least  90%  of  Erasmus  students  in  all  regions  participate  in  Erasmus  in 
order  to  experience  living  abroad,  meet  new  people,  learn  or  improve  a  foreign 
language  and  develop  their  soft  skills.  Just  after  comes  in  all  regions  the  wish  to 
enhance  employability  abroad  (87%),  which  is  more  important  than  employability  at 
home (77%). 

Still,  motivations  of  students  can  differ  depending  on  the  region.  While  living  abroad 
and  meeting  people  are  of  similar  importance  for  students  in  all  regions,  they  play  a 
much  bigger  role  for  Northern-European  students  than  other  motivations,  as  well  as 
for Western-European students, together with developing language skills.  

In  Eastern  Europe,  on  the  other  hand,  students  primarily  choose  to  go  abroad  to 
improve  their  foreign  language  skills  as  well  as  to  broaden  their  career  prospects. 
Students in Southern Europe wish to develop their language and soft skills and, of all 
the regions, they have  the highest motivation to go abroad in order to increase their 
future employability abroad. 

January 2016 | 3 

Effects of mobilityon the developmentof skills andemployability ofstudentsERASMUS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Regional results for reasons to go abroad 

Meet new people 
and broaden 
career prospects 
in home country 

Develop 
language and 
soft skills and 
broaden career 
prospects abroad 

Develop 
language skills 
and broaden 
career prospects 
in home country 

Live abroad and 
meet new people 

Motivations 
higher than in 
other regions 

Develop 
language skills 

Enhance future 
employability 
abroad 

Enhance future 
employability in 
home country 

The award  of an Erasmus grant also plays a role, especially in Eastern Europe where 
68%  of  students  claim  that  the  possibility  to  receive  a  grant  is  one  of  the  major 
reasons to go abroad.  

Erasmus  appears  to  be  much  more  selective  in  Eastern  Europe  (where  20%  of 
applications are rejected) and Southern Europe (19%), whereas  a substantially lower 
number  of  Erasmus  applications  is  rejected  in  Western  Europe  (9%)  and  Northern 
Europe (7%).  

A lack of financial support  prevents 53%  of students in Southern Europe and 51% in 
Eastern  Europe  to  take  part  in  Erasmus,  which  is  a  much  higher  share  than  in  the 
other  two  regions.  Financial  barriers  are  even  higher  for  students  from  a  non-
academic family background1 – 57% (Southern Europe) and 54% (Eastern Europe) of 
students from a non-academic family background do not participate in mobility for this 
reason.  This  is  why  additional  financial  support  is  provided  to  students  from 
a disadvantaged background since the start of Erasmus+ in 2014. The largest share of 
Erasmus  students  from  a  non-academic  family  background  can  be  found  in  Southern 
Europe (50%). 

How does Erasmus increase employability? 

Based  on  the  memo©  approach,  EIS  measured  the  level  of  six  selected  personality 
traits  of  students  referred  to  as  “memo©  factors”2:  “Tolerance  of  Ambiguity”, 
“Curiosity”,  “Confidence”,  “Serenity”,  “Decisiveness”  and  “Vigour”  (problem-solving 
skills)  before  and  after  mobility.  Across  Europe,  93%  of  the  surveyed  employers 
confirmed  that  the  six  traits  were  indeed  important  for  the  recruitment  and 
professional development of their employees. This was even the case for a remarkable 

1 Family background of a student is defined as “academic” if at least one of the parents attended university. 

2 For a further description of the factors, please see Annex: Methodology and Design. 

January 2016 | 4 

88%88%81%96%92%95%88%79%75%77%81% 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
98%  of  employers  in  Northern  Europe,  where  the  personality  traits  were  valued 
the most by employers. 

Employers in Northern  Europe  also value other employability-related skills more than 
employers in other regions. They place more emphasis on the top 5 skills – “Ability to 
Adapt  and  Act 
in  New  Situations”,  “Analytical  and  Problem-solving  Skills”, 
“Communication  Skills”,  “Planning  and  Organisational  Skills”  and  “Team  Working 
in  the  Eastern  region, 
Skills”  –  than  employers  elsewhere.  For  employers 
“Communication  Skills”  seem  particularly  important,  whereas  “Team  Working  Skills” 
are on the top of the list for employers in Southern and Western Europe.  

Relevance of personality traits and skills for recruitment 

Relevance of 
personality traits 
for employers 

Team Working 
Skills 

Team Working 
Skills 

Most important 
skills for 
employers 

Communication 
Skills 

Planning and 
Organisational 
Skills 

Communication 
Skills 

Team Working 
Skills 

Having  confirmed  the  relevance  of  the  personality  traits  and  skills  related  to 
employability, EIS analyses the impact of mobility on these traits and skills. Erasmus 
students show higher values for the six personality traits than non-mobile students – 
even before going abroad. This is valid for all four regions. 

January 2016 | 5 

98%94%90%90%100%95%98%97%100%95%98%97%100%95%98%97%100%95%98%97%100%95%98%97%100%95%98%97% 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pre-departure memo© values for Erasmus and non-mobile students 

Erasmus  
students 

Non-mobile 
students 

The  mobility  experience  itself  also  brings  about  a  positive  change  to  the  personality 
traits of Erasmus students. The average change achieved in six months through 
the  Erasmus  programme  can  be  considered  equivalent  to  a  personality 
change  that  would  normally  happen  over  four  years  of  life  without  Erasmus 
experience. 

Memo© total values of Erasmus students before and after mobility compared to non-
mobile students across age groups, on average across all regions 

74%

72%

70%

68%

66%

64%

62%

Erasmus experience 

Normal Life 

21

22

23

24

25

26

Erasmus PRE

Erasmus POST

Non-mobile

However,  the  level  of  improvement  varies  depending  on  the  regions.  Students  from 
Eastern  Europe  have  the  highest  memo©  factors  upon  their  return  from  Erasmus 
(71.2%), particularly in “Tolerance of Ambiguity”. Students from Western Europe also 
show the same level of improvement, starting from the lowest memo© scores across 
all regions and improving in five out of six factors. In contrast, students from Northern 
Europe increase their memo© factors with Erasmus the least. This can be due to the 
fact  that  other  forms  of  international  experience  prior  to  tertiary  education  are  quite 
common among students from Northern Europe, which may reduce the possible effect 
of Erasmus during their higher education studies. Students from Southern Europe also 
show limited improvement in their memo© factors, except for “Decisiveness”. This can 
be explained by the fact that they show the highest values before their departure.  

January 2016 | 6 

69.8%70.0%69.7%67.8%65.0%67.5%65.2%63.7% 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Interestingly,  in  all  regions,  work  placements  tend  to  improve  “Analytical  and 
Problem-solving Skills” significantly more than studies.  

When  comparing  measured  effects  with  student  perceptions,  Erasmus  students  from 
Eastern  Europe  seem  to  be  more  accurate  when  assessing  their  own  development 
than students in other regions, as their perceived improvement is quite consistent with 
the  measured  effects.  The  largest  difference  between  perceptions  and  measured 
effects  can  be  found  in  Southern  Europe,  where  students  perceive  greater  gain  than 
what  memo©  measures.  Western  European  students  are  less  optimistic  than  other 
regions  regarding  the  expected  improvement  of  their  personality  through  a  mobility 
experience  and  become  the  most  positively  “surprised”  by  the  impact  of  their 
experience. The highest share of Erasmus students who perceived an improvement of 
their personality traits was observed in Spain, Portugal, Romania, Bulgaria, the United 
Kingdom and Estonia.  

How does Erasmus influence future careers and social lives? 

In  addition  to  skills,  the  EIS  also  analyses  the  impact  of  mobility  on working life  and 
careers. 

Employment  rates  are  positively  affected  by  mobility.  Astonishingly,  students  in 
Eastern Europe reduce their risk of long-term unemployment by 83% by taking part in 
Erasmus.  In  Southern  Europe,  former  Erasmus  students  are  half  as  likely  to 
experience long-term unemployment compared to those that do not go abroad. At the 
country level, this advantage of Erasmus alumni over non-mobile alumni is highest in 
Hungary and Portugal. 

Long-term  unemployment  of  Erasmus  and  non-mobile  alumni  (more  than  12 months 
after graduation) 

8%

7%

6%

5%

4%

3%

2%

1%

0%

6% 

6% 

3% 

3% 

3% 

2% 

2% 

1% 

2% 

Erasmus

4% 

Non-mobile

Northern

Southern

Eastern

Western

Average

Even  five  to  ten  years  after  graduation,  the  unemployment  rate  of  mobile  students  is 
lower  than  for  non-mobile  students.  The  largest  difference  is  to  be  found  in  Southern 
Europe with 56% less Erasmus alumni experiencing unemployment than non-mobiles.  

Work  placements  seem  to  have  a  particularly  direct  positive  impact  on  finding  a  job, 
with  one  in  three  Erasmus  students  on  average  offered  a  position  by  their  host 
company. In Southern Europe, this share even goes up to almost one in two students, 
with Italy (51%) and Portugal (47%) at the top. 

January 2016 | 7 

 
 
 
 
 
Job offer through a work placement abroad, Erasmus alumni 

The  mobility  experience  also  fosters  an  entrepreneurial  spirit.  This  is  particularly  the 
case  for  Eastern  Europe,  which  has  the  highest  ratio  of  alumni  definitely  planning  to 
create  a  start-up  (38%),  as  well  as  for  Southern  Europe,  where  almost  one  in  ten 
graduates with Erasmus traineeship experience has already done so.  

Start-ups realised or planned by Erasmus alumni 

Five to ten years after graduation, significantly more Erasmus alumni (64%) than non-
mobile alumni (55%) hold a management position. The difference is especially large in 
Eastern  Europe  (70%  compared  to  41%),  in  particular  in  Hungary,  where  more  than 
nine out of ten Erasmus alumni hold a managerial position, more than twice the figure 
for non-mobile alumni. Furthermore, 50% of Bulgarian employers claim to give higher 
salaries to recently hired employees if they are internationally experienced. 

January 2016 | 8 

25%45%33%33%38%32%25%NorthernSouthernEasternWesternPlanning to start a companyRealised a start-up7%27%7%5%9% 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alumni in management positions five to ten years after graduation 

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

68% 

70% 

62% 

51% 

64% 

65% 

52% 

57% 

41% 

55% 

Erasmus

Non-mobiles

Northern

Southern

Eastern

Western

Average

Erasmus promotes labour mobility after graduation. Of the Erasmus alumni, 40% had 
moved  country  at  least  once  since  graduation  compared  with  23%  of  non-mobile 
alumni.  In  addition,  93%  (compared  with  73%  of  the  non-mobile  students)  could 
envisage living abroad. Former Erasmus students are also more than twice as likely to 
change their employer as non-mobile alumni. Erasmus students from Southern Europe 
in  particular  become  mobile  later  in  life  and  are  more  than  twice  as  likely  to  move 
from one country to the other than their non-mobile counterparts. 

Alumni  that  have  changed  their  country  of  residence  or  work  at  least  once  after 
graduation 

 Erasmus alumni 

          Non-mobile alumni 

January 2016 | 9 

NorthernSouthernEasternWestern40%45%37%37%24%19%27%24% 
 
 
 
 
 
 
How does Erasmus influence relations to Europe and personal life? 

In  all  regions,  Erasmus  students  as  well  as  alumni  feel  significantly  more  related  to 
Europe  than  non-mobiles.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  share  of  Erasmus  students  and 
alumni that relate strongly to Europe is very similar in all regions. More than 80% feel 
that  their  European  attitude  has  been  strengthened  by  mobility.  This  perception  is 
especially  strong  in  Southern  and  Eastern  Europe  (each  85%),  with  Bulgaria  (90%), 
Portugal (89%) and Italy (87%) at the top, followed by the United Kingdom with 88%. 

Perceived improvement of European attitude through mobility 

Erasmus  also  influences  the  private  life.  At  the  time  of  the  survey,  32%  of  the 
Erasmus  alumni  had  a  life  partner  of  a  different  nationality  than  their  own,  nearly 
three  times  more  than  among  non-mobile  alumni  (13%).  Graduates  from  Southern 
Europe  are  most  frequently  found  in  international  relationships  (37%).  Looking  at 
individual  countries,  most  Erasmus  alumni  in  transnational  relationships  were 
observed in the United Kingdom (57%) and Austria (52%). 

Alumni with life partners of a different nationality 

January 2016 | 10 

81%85%85%81%0%10%20%30%40%0%10%20%30%40%NorthernSouthernEasternWesternAverageErasmusNon-mobileNorthernSouthernEasternWesternAverage 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ISBN 978-92-79-52202-4