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MICHAŁ BRAUN Competences shaped in the frame of the European mobility programmes
under Erasmus, up to the Youth in Action programme basing on nonformal education, and the Grundtvig programme earmarked for adults and senior citizens. Each programme concentrates on a different target group, but what they have in common is action taken in relation to international cooperation. Erasmus is Europe’s most popular programme designed for student exchanges. Thousands of students, doctoral students and academic staff experience mobilities at major European universities. The time spent on a student exchange is an opportunity to meet peers from all over Europe, as well as for learning and playing together. These exchanges also involve knowledge transfer, as, while studying abroad, young people realise that it is possible to teach and organize academic life in a different way than it is done at the home institution. As a result, universities in different countries learn from one another, and have an opportunity to boost their development. Establishing new contacts, improving language skills and coping in new situations are among the good lessons mobility can teach. I personally have participated in a mobility under the Erasmus programme, spending a semester at the University in Prague. Having studied in Poland for three years, I was surprised in a positive way by the Charles University – mainly due to its international character. Selecting interesting courses, a new place of residence, and a shared room with a student from England made it an unforgettable time for me. For me it was also a time of intensive and enlightening studies, and of great fun. When describing Erasmus programme and its impact on the development of mobile society in Europe, we should remember that it is still an exclusive programme. It is addressed to a group of students, many of whom have already had international experiences, who form only a small percentage of the population of young people. The limitations of Erasmus include, not only its accessibility, but also the limited integration of students with the environment. In a majority of the cases known to me, including my own, Erasmus students stay together and attend classes designed solely for them. This results in the establishment of exterritorial bubbles, in which students participating in international exchanges live. They attend separate classes, and live in separate dormitories, and events organised for them do not provide opportunities for residents of the host country in which they are studying to be met. The attitude of many universities to exchanges make students afraid of leaving for abroad. Many academic centres do not recognise courses for which credits were earned abroad, and require that their students take additional tests upon return. Youth in Action is a programme of the European Union that promotes mobility and has a much wider reach than Erasmus. The programme is based on non-formal education (i.e. organised, but not observing formal criteria or ministerial requirements) and is addressed to all individuals up to the age of 30 who wish to implement an interesting project. Youth in Action comprises short exchanges of young people, during which groups from many countries meet for a couple days or weeks, long-