The recent murder of a British student in Perugia has brought to public attention the tens of thousands of foreign students attending schools and universities across Italy. Meredith Kercher was studying languages at Leeds University in England when she, like many other young people across Europe every year, chose to take part in the Erasmus exchange programme and spend a year studying at the Università degli Studi di Perugia. Yet as the story has unfolded over the past few weeks, a picture has emerged of what took place that has prompted a more in-depth examination of what life is like for students studying abroad.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the European Erasmus exchange programme, boasting over 1.5 million participants since it was first established. The Erasmus scheme gives university students the opportunity to study abroad for a period of 3-12 months at a partner university or other form of higher education establishment in another participating country. In 2006 alone 150,000 students went to study abroad in one of 2,199 participating institutions in 31 different countries. Immortalized in the 2003 cult film “L’Auberge Espagnole” from French director Cedric Klapisch, the scheme aims to develop human resources across Europe and help to promote a dialogue and understanding between people of different cultures.

Overall the scheme has been hailed as a resounding success. A recent report on the analysis of Erasmus mobility by the European Commission shows that 90 per cent of students who took part feel positive or very positive about their experiences. 80 per cent of the people questioned said that they were the first in their family to be able to study abroad, and most said that they had developed a more open attitude and approach towards society and a better and clearer perspective for their subsequent studies or professional life. Most students also said that they achieved a greater linguistic competence during their Erasmus experience, and the percentage of students able to work in a second language increased from 40 per cent to 65 per cent.

The success of the scheme in promoting a sense of pan-European multiculturalism is also increasing. The European Commission is aiming to increase the number of participants to three million by 2012 and the budget of the programme has grown from €8 million in 2004 to €94 million in 2008. Describing the advent of what he terms the “Erasmus generation”, Stefan Wolff, a professor of political sciences at the University of Bath, England, writes: “For the first time in history we’re seeing the seeds of a truly European identity.” He goes on to explain: “Give it 15, 20 or 25 years, and Europe will be run by leaders with a completely different socialization from those today.”

Jan Figel, the EU’s commissioner for education, training, culture and multilingualism whose department is in charge of Erasmus, argues that the linguistic and cultural diversity promoted by such schemes is actually helping to give young Europeans a more common cultural identity. “They are not asked to give up their national or regional identity – they are asked to go beyond it, and that is what pulls them closer together,” said Figel. “We are creating a community in which diversity is not a problem but a characteristic. It is an integral part of feeling European.”

Yet, as Kercher’s case makes tragically clear, there is more to this dream of a united Europe and multicultural student community than meets the eye. Many students who take part in the exchange programme find themselves lonely and isolated when faced with the myriad of daily challenges that accompany moving to a foreign country. “For the first month I just wanted to go home,” commented Alesha, a graduate of the University of Oxford who spent a year in Rome and has since returned here after finishing her degree. The shock of leaving behind family and friends and being thrown into a new and unfamiliar culture where even communicating with people can be a challenge can leave students feeling disorientated and alone, a fish out of water.

This feeling is often exacerbated on arriving home when many returning students complain of feeling out of place and unable to share their experiences with their less travelled friends. “The former Erasmus students know that when they return, their homes seem less glamorous, their towns colder, their universities feel like dumps, the television is still shabby and their friends lousy,” writes Fiorella de Nicola, an Italian student from the University of Alicante (2004/5), in her thesis entitled the “Anthropology of the Erasmus Student”. Studying abroad may promote a greater multicultural awareness, but it can also lead to alienation from your own background. “In short we must be prepared to lead an existence of outsiders, people without roots.”

To counter these problems the Erasmus scheme provides a strong support network for students participating in the programme. All Erasmus institutions provide language tutoring to foreign students to help them overcome the first hurdle in assimilating into their new surroundings. The University of Bergamo, for example, offers students an online distance learning project called PASE (Percorso di Accoglienza per Studenti Erasmus) to help improve foreign students’ language and study skills. This includes a language placement test and reading, writing and grammar activities, as well as courses to introduce them to the university system and the various courses and classes available.

As a pioneering example of how much smaller the world is becoming, it is also unsurprising that much of the Erasmus support network is based online. As well as the official sites provided by the European Commission, there are hundreds of information sharing forums created by and for students taking part in the scheme, such as Erasmusone.com and even MyErasmus.org. These provide not only a source of advice for students, but also a means of keeping in touch with other veterans of the programme through associations such as the Erasmus Student Network (ESN). With over 12,000 members from 258 different local sections, the ESN provides information and support to students when abroad, as well as organizing social events to help them keep in contact after they have finished.

Yet, possibly the most poignant demonstration of support is given by the show of solidarity offered by the Università degli Studi di Perugia, which has pledged to offer its “concrete help to all the Erasmus students who are distressed in this particularly difficult moment”. As the popularity of international exchange programmes continues to grow, the tragedy of recent events throws into sharp relief the importance of sustaining and supporting the student community at home and abroad.

Erasmus in Italy

There are 239 Italian institutions that take part in the Erasmus programme. The most popular are as follows (2005-2006 figures):

Outgoing:

Università di Bologna – 1,311 students

Università degli Studi di Roma ‘La Sapienza’ – 819 students

Università degli Studi di Padova – 685 students

Incoming:

Università di Bologna – 1,348 students

Università degli Studi di Firenze – 982 students

Università degli Studi di Roma ‘La Sapienzà – 912 students

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