For many years, the European Erasmus+ programme has promoted education, teaching, youth and sport and provided opportunities for educational mobility and cooperation within the European Union and beyond. Today, by building on the advantages of the Federation and eduGAIN, Erasmus+ offers new opportunities to promote the mobility of students and young graduates.
Joining the Belnet R&E Federation? A first step to simplifying the mobility of your students
In recent years, GÉANT and the various NRENs have been involved in digitising student mobility within the European Union, offering new prospects for the Erasmus+ programme. Through Belnet, Belgian higher education institutions have been encouraged to become members of the Belnet R&E Federation.
This membership allows them to enjoy many advantages, such as a shared infrastructure, access to services such as FileSender, and the simplified administration offered by the Single Sign-On principle.
This principle allows your end users to access many different services thanks to a unique username and password. So, in the academic context, if your students move from your institution to another member of the same Federation, they will not need to create a new password for authentication. They can therefore quickly, transparently and securely use the online services available at the visited institution.
A paperless administrative process thanks to eduGAIN
In Belgium, every member of the Belnet R&E Federation can easily join eduGAIN, the transcontinental interfederation project developed by GÉANT. This "Federation of R&E Federations" allows the possibilities of Single Sign-On to be extended abroad. The pioneering MyAcademicID project, initiated by GÉANT in particular, is the expression of this extended principle adapted to the European academic world, laying the foundations of the digitalised path that the Erasmus+ programme is now taking.
The aim of this project is to enable students to register electronically and securely at higher education institutions abroad, eliminating the need for extensive paper-based administrative procedures.
eduGAIN is therefore a crucial element for the development of a paperless administration, inherent to the digitalisation of student mobility promoted by Erasmus+.
The Erasmus+ application uses authentication via eduGAIN
The culmination of this digitalisation of the Erasmus+ programme is undoubtedly the Erasmus+ mobile application. It was created to provide a digital management centre for the various administrative steps involved in an Erasmus student's mobility period.
By authenticating via eduGAIN, students can sign their learning contract online, for example. They can also access language support via the OLS (Online Linguistic Support) platform. Lastly, they can take advantage of good maps and useful information to ensure they have an excellent experience abroad.
The app is currently available on Apple Store and Play Store. You can also get an overview on the website: erasmusapp.eu.
Is your institution already a member of the Belnet R&E Federation?
If you are not yet a member, we strongly encourage you to join the Belnet R&E Federation so that your students can enjoy authentication via eduGAIN. We will provide you with all the information you need to facilitate your membership.
Is your institution not yet a member of eduGAIN and the Belnet R&E Federation?