Interest in Erasmus+ mobilities continues to grow – new record set in the spring 2026 call– kevään 2026 hakukierroksella tehtiin uusi ennätys

The Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) has awarded the spring 2026 Erasmus+ mobility grants (KA1) for the fields of education and training, youth and sport[AK1.1]. Grants were awarded to both short-term projects and accredited organisations, with the total grant amount being over €63 million. This amount will enable more than 32,000 mobilities, which is over 3,000 more than in the previous year.  

Erasmus+ is the most important funding programme for international mobility in higher education

In the higher education sector, the grant amounts and mobilities awarded under Erasmus+ remained largely unchanged compared to the previous year. The total grant amount increased to approximately €28.3 million, which will enable nearly 11,000 higher education students and teachers to take part in international exchanges in Europe and beyond.

The Erasmus+ programme's European mobility action is the most important funding programme for international mobility and cooperation in higher education: almost 70% of outgoing student mobilities and 35% of staff mobilities from Finnish higher education institutions are funded by Erasmus+. The programme also plays a key role in facilitating cooperation with the Global South. 

Particularly with regard to global mobility to destinations outside the EU, demand for funding is clearly greater than the supply. 

The spring 2026 call also highlighted the growing share of short-term blended mobilities in the grants awarded. This trend is particularly pronounced among universities of applied sciences. Earlier this year, EDUFI published a report which found that blended and short-term mobilities lower the threshold for internationalisation.

Over 40% of VET mobilities are now group-based

In the VET sector, the total amount of Erasmus+ grants awarded was nearly €20.4 million. The sum will fund 83 projects and a total of 7,443 mobilities, of which 5,725 are learner mobilities and 1,718 are staff mobilities. 

According to Head of Unit Sari Turunen-Zwinger from EDUFI’s Internationalisation Services for Vocational Education and Training, the group mobilities of learners in VET, which were introduced as a new action in 2024, have increased rapidly. In this call, over 40% of the learner mobilities awarded were group mobilities. 

“However, it is important that students continue to be offered longer workplace education and training periods as well,” states Turunen-Zwinger.  

Learner mobility remains strong in general education

In the school education sector, a total of €10.3 million in grants was awarded to 271 projects for a total of 5,907 mobilities, of which 4,656 are learner mobilities and 1,251 are staff mobilities. 

“Erasmus+ mobilities open up the world to learners in a tangible way: not only do they get to study alongside young people from another country, but they also get to share everyday life with host families, build lasting friendships and, in many cases, take their first steps beyond Finland’s borders,” explains Lead Adviser Sirkka Säikkälä from EDUFI’s Internationalisation Services for General Education and Adult Education. 

Green travel increasing in adult education mobilities  

In the adult education sector, a total of approximately €3.2 million in grants was awarded to 80 projects for a total of 1,728 mobilities, of which 819 are learner mobilities and 909 are staff mobilities. The most common types of staff mobilities granted were staff training and job shadowing mobilities, while the most common type of learner mobility was group mobility.

Since 2021, the number of applications, mobilities and budgets requested for adult education mobility projects has increased year on year.
“With regard to short-term mobility projects, what was particularly noteworthy in this call was the large number of new applicants and the high quality of the applications,” says Senior Adviser Petra Helenius from EDUFI’s Internationalisation Services for General Education and Adult Education.  

The proportion of green travel increased compared to previous years. In this call, 31% of short-term mobilities and 25% of mobilities organised by accredited organisations will be carried out using green travel options. 

Mobilities in the youth sector also offer opportunities for disadvantaged young people

In the youth sector, grants were awarded to 71 mobility projects, with the total grant amount being €5.4 million. The number of mobilities granted was 6,466, which includes both staff and youth mobilities.

Youth exchange grants were awarded to a wide range of applicants, including municipalities, NGOs, parishes and open youth groups. The most common themes of the projects included environment and nature, as well as wellbeing and mental health.

In youth participation activities, on the other hand, local initiatives arising from young people’s own needs proved very successful in the call. The activities of the projects that received high scores were targeted at e.g. young people living in remote areas, on archipelagos or in suburbs, as well as young people with immigrant backgrounds. 

Interest in DiscoverEU Inclusion Action grants was also high. 

“Youth organisations feel that the DiscoverEU Interrail action offers young people a new kind of meaningful and purposeful activity and gives youth workers the opportunity to try out a new tool for youth work,” says Senior Adviser Ari Huotari from EDUFI’s Internationalisation Services for Youth, Culture and Sports. 

“Many young people would never have an experience like this without these projects.”

In the sport sector, sports clubs seek new expertise from abroad

In the sport sector, grants were awarded to 16 projects, with the total grant amount being approximately €237,000. This sum will fund 119 mobilities for various types of sports clubs. All the grant recipients are first-timers when it comes to Erasmus+ mobility of sport staff projects.

According to Lead Adviser Terhi Liintola from EDUFI’s Internationalisation Services for Youth, Culture and Sports, mobility projects for sport staff contribute in a tangible manner to the objectives of the EU’s Union of Skills, as they allow club staff to acquire new skills abroad, which are then applied directly to the day-to-day running of Finnish clubs.

“The skills acquired during mobilities are directly transferred into the everyday operations of clubs in the form of new coaching methods, more inclusive approaches and safer practices. At the same time, European peer learning strengthens the joint development of clubs and makes the objectives of the Union of Skills visible in practice,” Liintola explains.