Corrado Cagli (1910-1976) - Erasmus of Rotterdam. Drawing. Archivio Cagli, Roma [by curtesy of Comm. Franco Muzzi]

Erasmus (European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students) is the European Commission's educational programme for Higher Education students, teachers and institutions. It was introduced in 1987 with the aim of increasing student mobility within the European Community, subsequently the European Economic Area countries, and now also the Candidate Countries of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.In 1995 Erasmus became incorporated into the Socrates programme which covers education from school to university to lifelong learning. [For a full overview, see here].
In 2007 the new Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013 replaced the existing Socrates, Leonardo da Vinci, and eLearning programmes which expired at the end of 2006. Erasmus is one of the four sectorial programmes supported under the Lifelong Learning Programme.
The Erasmus programme was launched in June 1987 and 3244 participated in its first academic year. Now, more than 150 000 people benefit each year from the programme. The Commission and the 31 participating countries will celebrate its 20th anniversary throughout the year 2007.
The Erasmus programme, which is arguably one of the best-known Community actions, encourages student and teacher mobility, and promotes transnational cooperation projects among universities across Europe. The scheme currently covers nine out of every ten European higher education establishments. It was named after Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466 – 1536), who was a Dutch humanist and theologian.
Erasmus has developed beyond just being an educational programme. It gives many European university students the chance of living for the first time in a foreign country, and it has reached the status of a social and cultural phenomenon. Well over 1.5 million students have so far benefited from Erasmus grants, and the European Commission hopes to reach a total of 3 million by 2012. Erasmus can provide:

• A fun challenging experience
• The confidence to live in another country
• New or improved language skills
• New perspectives on an academic subject
• An international network of friends
• Travel opportunities throughout Europe
• Academic credits
• Transferable employment skills

See also: The Erasmus Programme of the European Union for the exchange of university students.
Its origin and preceding years, reported and documented by Prof. Sofia Corradi the scholar who first conceived of it