Sustainability of Erasmus Mundus master courses

The Report outlines the results of a Survey on the sustainability of Erasmus Mundus Master Courses (EMMCs), which was launched in March 2016 by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission. It was submitted to the coordinators of all master courses (64) selected under Erasmus Mundus calls for proposals from 2004 to 2010, and which ended their last EU-funded intake in September 2016 at the latest. 39 replies were received and form the sample, corresponding to a response rate of 61%: 8 projects from 2004 (6 of which were selected again in 2010), 3 from 2005 (all selected again in 2010), 3 from 2007, 10 from 2008 and 15 from 2010. The aim of this Report is to identify key factors and practices that have allowed EMMCs to remain sustainable in the long run without EU funding. Sustainability is increasingly considered in the selection and evaluation of Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees and it is important in the management of joint programmes. Its definition as outlined in the Handbook on Sustainability is : “A project is sustainable when it continues to deliver benefits to [its] beneficiaries and/or other constituencies for an extended period after the Commission’s financial assistance has been terminated” . This broad description encompasses not just financial aspects but also many others, including integration, continued cooperation, added value, innovation, quality, visibility, employability and transparency. The benefits of a project can be numerous and have different effects. A sustainable programme is not necessarily one that maintains exactly the same structure as during the funded period (although this can be a remarkable achievement): changes, new developments, different approaches and solutions are all part of the natural evolution of a project, as long as it still delivers an added value to the institutions and to the students. All master coordinators have reported that the Erasmus Mundus programme has had a positive, long-term impact on their institution, especially concerning international visibility, the improvement of didactic practices and administrative procedures and the development of research collaborations.

You can read and download the report by following the link.