Interest in Erasmus+ partnerships for cooperation remained strong in the spring 2025 call
The Finnish National Agency for Education has awarded grants for Erasmus+ partnerships for cooperation (KA2) in the spring 2025 call for applications. In total, the Agency granted over €9.5 million to different education sectors and the youth sector. The number of applications remained high, with a record level of interest particularly in the higher education sector.
Competition for funding intensified
A total of 270 applications were received in the spring call, based on which 64 projects were awarded funding. Application acceptance rates varied by sector, and competition for funding was fierce, especially in higher education and youth.
The quality of applications was high across the board, with scores rising particularly in general education and higher education. For example, in higher education, the lowest score with which an application was approved was 91 out of 100. In general education, the lowest scores for small-scale partnerships and cooperation partnerships were 84 and 85 points, respectively.
- “The demand for Erasmus+ partnerships for cooperation has remained high for several years now, which shows that European cooperation is seen as important in the field,” says Programme Manager Hannele Nevalampi from the Finnish National Agency for Education.
- “There is clear added value in bringing together different perspectives and expertise from different countries.”
The call saw a high number of first-time applicants, especially in the adult education and general education sectors. In vocational education and training, funding for cooperation partnerships was awarded primarily to experienced actors, but applications for small-scale partnerships were also received from several new organisations.
Erasmus+ priorities of sustainable development, inclusion and digitalisation particularly well-represented
The themes of sustainable development, inclusion and digitalisation were particularly well-represented in the funded projects. In higher education, half of the projects funded were concerned with combating climate change and strengthening green capacities. In adult education, inclusion was the most prominent theme, appearing in almost half of the applications.
In general education cooperation partnerships, the emphasis was on sustainable development, inclusion and digitalisation, while applications for small-scale partnerships were evenly spread across all the different priorities.
Topical themes such as artificial intelligence were highlighted in several project applications, and the funded projects included one general education cooperation partnership related to AI. STEM and STEAM themes, i.e. broad technology-oriented learning, also featured strongly.
- “The projects focus on areas that we need to develop nationally in Finland anyway. Projects are also often at the forefront of developing competences for which there is not yet much education and training available. One example of this is the Taitotalo project, which involves developing a drone-related training package in cooperation between vocational education and training and a university of applied sciences," Nevalampi says.
Although Ukraine was not a separate priority, support for Ukraine was still reflected in the applications. In higher education, three of the funded projects involved Ukraine.