European exchanges with Erasmus... Increasing university teachers' mobility to promote students' exchanges

The Erasmus student exchange programme created 20 years ago is completely in line with the knowledge economy model adopted in Lisbon in March 2000, according to which Europe is expected to become "the world's most competitive and dynamic knowledge economy" between now and the year 2010. Despite the incitements proposed in the European Union's policies, the undeniable popularity of the programme and the increasing numbers of students participating in exchange schemes, the initial objectives are far from having been met. University lecturers also have been taking very little advantage of European mobility programmes. Now at both European and national levels, students' mobility has been found to be correlated with that of their tutors. In view of this link, the teachers would surely be incited to become more mobile in order to promote greater numbers of exchanges between students.