Programa Erasmus/Socrates

SOCRATES / ERASMUS
The European Community action programme for cooperation in the field of education

SOCRATES, the European Community action programme for cooperation in the field of education, was adopted on 14 March 1995 Decision 819/95/CE, Official Journal L87/10 of 20 April 1995). It covers the period 1995-1999 and has a total budget of ECU 850 million (subject to review) for this period. SOCRATES is applicable to the 15 Member States of the European Union as well as to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway in the framework of the European Economic Area agreement. It is now being extended to some of the associated countries in Central and Eastern Europe.

SOCRATES continues and extends a number of previous Community programmes, including ERASMUS (in higher education) and LINGUA (in the field of language-learning). These are combined with new actions to form the first comprehensive European programme for cooperation in all sectors of education.

The main objectives of SOCRATES are:

to develop the European dimension in education;
promote improved knowledge of European languages;
to promote the intercultural dimension of education;
to enhance the quality of education by means of European cooperation;
to promote mobility of teaching staff and students;
to encourage the recognition of diplomas, periods of study and other qualifications;
to facilitate the development of an open European area for cooperation in education;
to encourage open and distance education in the European context;
to foster exchanges of information on educational systems and policy.

SOCRATES forms part of a broader strategy to promote the concept of lifelong learning in response to constantly evolving education and training needs. The programme interacts closely with other initiatives at European level, notably the LEONARDO DA VINCI programme for vocational training, YOUTH FOR EUROPE III, various components of the Fourth Research and Development Framework Programme, and EU actions in favour of disadvantaged persons and the promotion of equality of opportunity.

SOCRATES contains provision for a broad range of activities, including:

transnational projects, networks, partnerships and associations
joint development of curricula, modules, teaching materials and other educational products
exchanges and mobility
transnational training courses for educational staff
visits to facilitate project preparation or sharing of experience
preparation of studies, analyses, guides and data collection activities
project evaluation
dissemination of results.

The SOCRATES programme promotes cooperation in six areas:

Higher Education (ERASMUS)
School Education (COMENIUS)
Promotion of language-learning (LINGUA)
Open and distance learning (ODL)
Adult Education
Exchange of information and experience on education systems and policy.

Overall responsibility for implementing SOCRATES lies with the European Commission (Directorate-General XXII: Education, Training and Youth). It is assisted in this task by the SOCRATES Committee, consisting of two members designated by each Member State. The Committee has two sub-committees, in the fields of higher education and school education respectively.

As far as operational management is concerned, the Commission is assisted by a Brussels-based Technical Assistance Office:

SOCRATES and YOUTH Technical Assistance Office
rue Montoyer 70, B-1000 BRUSSELS
Tel.+32-2-233 0111, Fax +32-2-233 0150.

Procedures for the submission and selection of applications for support within SOCRATES vary considerably, depending on whether the particular Action is managed centrally by the Commission or on a decentralised basis by the National Agencies designated by the participating countries, including those in Central and Eastern Europe. Please note that these adress lists supersede and replace those given in the various Guidelines for Applicants, see below.

Short descriptions of the programme are available as follows:

Guidelines for Applicants 1998 are available covering all parts of the programme and containing all necessary details concerning the application procedures, deadlines and selection criteria. A general description of the programme and its policy context is contained in the SOCRATES Vademecum. These documents may be downloaded via the EUROPA Server (Guidelines available in all Community language versions, Vademecum in nine language versions), or may be obtained in printed form (available in all Community language versions) together with application forms and other useful information on request from the Technical Assistance Office indicated above.

Source: European Comission