The UK should consider rejoining the Erasmus+ student mobility scheme in light of improved relations with the European Union, a House of Lords report has recommended.

A week before Britain left the EU in December 2020, it was announced it would ?in the bloc¡¯s flagship study-abroad scheme, which was described as ¡°extremely expensive¡± by Boris Johnson, prime minister at the time. From September 2021, the Turing Scheme has funded study placements for UK students, both in Europe and globally.

According to a report published by the Lords¡¯ European Affairs Committee on 29 April, that scheme has enjoyed some success, with 38,000 students?studying abroad in 2022-23, mostly on short-term placements. That was roughly double the number who travelled overseas on the last year of the Erasmus+ scheme, although this tended to fund an entire academic year of study.

But the lack of incoming students from Europe was a flaw of the Turing Scheme, explains the committee, which backs former Conservative leader Lord Hague¡¯s belief that a ¡°two-way flow [of students] is extremely important¡±. Other witnesses told the committee that Erasmus+ had been a useful ¡°showcase¡± for UK universities?that encouraged students to return for postgraduate study.

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The report says ministers should consider adding a reciprocal element to the Turing Scheme that?would allow European students to come to UK universities, similar to Wales¡¯ Taith initiative; or the UK should simply seek to rejoin ¡°aspects of Erasmus+¡±, pending negotiations with Brussels, it adds.

Speaking to Times Higher Education,?committee chair Lord Kinnoull said the UK should take advantage of ¡°dramatically improved relations¡± with the EU to ¡°enact a series of small things¡± to improve mobility between Britain and Europe.

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¡°UK universities could certainly benefit from an injection of outstanding students from Europe,¡± said Lord Kinnoull, who urged Westminster to ¡°look at other nations in the UK to see how the Turing Scheme could become more complete¡±.

¡°In Wales, the Taith scheme is looking to bring in 10,000 students from Europe,¡± he added.

The report, which has 72 recommendations, also urges the UK and the EU to conclude negotiations over Britain¡¯s association to the €100 billion (?90 billion) Horizon Europe research initiative?¡°as soon as possible¡±, calling this a ¡°win-win¡± for both parties.

The current impasse is believed to concern the cost of the UK¡¯s membership, although the EU has agreed to waive the bill for the UK¡¯s two years¡¯ of non-participation caused by disagreements over the Northern Ireland border.

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¡°My feeling is that there must be a landing zone between the two parties that can be agreed,¡± Lord Kinnoull told THE. The disputed sum was likely to be ¡°pretty small bananas¡± in the context of a ¡°couple of Horizon funding rounds¡±, he added.

¡°Both sides should be thinking about this in terms of two or three Horizon cycles ¨C is that sum of money [likely to be won by British universities] larger or smaller than what is being disputed? Maybe we should split the difference and get on with it ¨C I hope that is the kind of thinking that will prevail,¡± he added.

jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com