I was absolutely delighted to hear this week that the UK is re-entering Erasmus+, the European Union’s education and training scheme, with young people able to participate again from January 2027[1].

Although when I was at University I wouldn’t have been brave enough to try a semester in another country (getting to the other end of the A9 was stressful enough), I saw first hand the benefits of the scheme when I was at UHI, then again when my son was fortunate enough to travel to Norway with his Primary School.

At UHI, the Scottish School of Forestry would host many Erasmus students every semester from countries like Finland, Spain, France, Germany, Czech, Sweden and more. One of my colleagues was the lead for the Erasmus Forest Network, a well-established group that often held their meetings at the school, and the learning that group brought to our northerly UK outpost of Forestry Education was invaluable.

The Erasmus students benefited from learning about forest management practices in Scotland and of course shared their experiences and learning about forestry in their home nations with our own students and staff. They were always made very welcome and many formed lifelong friendships with their fellow students. There were even a few Erasmus weddings and babies over the (30+) years!

Children still at school benefit from the scheme too, as my son did when the local primary school organised an exchange visit to Nordfold School, in Steigen, Norway. He came back buzzing with the learning he had gained about life for children living in a remote area, his new outdoor skills and of course, he had many stories about the food! His confidence grew, and I have a feeling that when he is older, whatever he decides to do, whether it be working, training or learning, he might just be brave enough to go a bit further than the end of the A9!

[1] Young people from all backgrounds to get opportunity to study abroad as UK-EU deal unlocks Erasmus+ - GOV.UK