{"id":126861,"date":"2021-05-14T16:03:45","date_gmt":"2021-05-14T14:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=126861"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:37","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:37","slug":"fingers-crossed-students-planning-to-go-abroad-still-facing-uncertainty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/05\/14\/fingers-crossed-students-planning-to-go-abroad-still-facing-uncertainty\/","title":{"rendered":"Fingers crossed: students planning to go abroad still facing uncertainty"},"content":{"rendered":"

Starting in September, students might be able to travel abroad again for their studies and spend a few months in Barcelona or Berlin. But some institutions aren\u2019t that optimistic and have already decided to scrap their exchange programmes.<\/p>\n

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International students in Rotterdam<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRonald van den Heerik<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Update 14 May: Meanwhile, the UvA has announced that it will not be cancelling all exchanges after all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Rather than waiting to see how the pandemic will develop this summer, the University of Amsterdam has cancelled student exchanges for the first semester, hoping that this will create clarity. The decision ensures that students have plenty of time to choose something else.<\/p>\n

Driestar University of Applied Sciences is taking the same approach. Until 1 January 2022, its teacher training programmes will only be offering digital exchanges with educational institutions abroad.<\/p>\n

EUR more positive<\/h2>

The Erasmus University won\u2019t go so far. According to Martine Wierenga, director of the International Office, the Erasmus University allows the exchanges to continue \u2018as far as possible\u2019. \u201cIn doing so, of course, we are dependent on partner universities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Important condition is that the travel advice for the country of destination changes to the colour code green or yellow. \u201cIn exceptional cases, it is also possible to go on exchange in an \u2018orange\u2019 country as well, but then you are talking about students who have the same nationality as that country, or even already live in that country,\u201d Wierenga clarifies. There are also some studies with compulsory foreign exchanges, which, in principle, can also be continued in the case of an orange travel advice.<\/p>\n

Conditional go-aheads<\/h2>

Other institutions are opting for a less definitive approach. The University of Twente, for instance, has given its students (and programmes) the go-ahead to prepare for exchanges in September, as long as they take into account that there might still be restrictions.<\/p>\n

Utrecht University is also choosing to greenlight exchanges \u2013 conditionally, that is, as it remains uncertain whether students will actually be able to travel abroad. This will only be possible if the travel advisory for their country of choice is either green or yellow.<\/p>\n

Green means that no restrictions apply, while yellow means that travellers should remain \u2018vigilant\u2019. There are also orange and red travel advisories. Currently, almost the entire world map<\/a> is orange, which means that only necessary travel is allowed. There are also a number of red countries, for which all travel has been suspended.<\/p>\n

Taking risks<\/h2>

So the educational institutions have two choices: cancel in order to provide clarity to students and programmes, or don\u2019t cancel and risk wasting time and resources.<\/p>\n

Most are choosing some variation of the latter. Codarts University for the Arts and Ede Christian University of Applied Sciences have not yet made a definitive decision, while Delft University of Technology is limiting its exchanges to the European Union. VU Amsterdam will base its decision on the travel advisories on 1 June for exchanges outside Europe and 1 July for exchanges within Europe, which includes Turkey.<\/p>\n

But what about the students themselves? Do they get a say? \u201cWe do believe that student participation councils should have the right to advise on this, but it\u2019s a grey area\u201d, says Dahran \u00c7oban, chair of Dutch National Student Association ISO. \u201cThe law is open to interpretation.\u201d This gives institutions leeway to approach the matter as they see fit.<\/p>\n

Drastic decision<\/h2>

Either way, scrapping exchanges is a drastic decision. That\u2019s why administrators should involve their students in the decision regardless, \u00c7oban believes, even if there\u2019s no formal requirement to do so.<\/p>\n

At the University of Amsterdam, students are now protesting<\/a> the cancellation of the exchange programmes. They want to know why their university is choosing to scrap exchanges when other institutions are allowing their students to go abroad.<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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