The Erasmus+ programme guide formulates the general objective of the programme:

"To support, through lifelong learning, the educational, professional and personal development of people [...] in Europe and beyond, thereby contributing to sustainable growth, quality jobs and social cohesion, to driving innovation, and to strengthening European identity and active citizenship."

_{Erasmus+ Programme Guide, p. 6, GENERAL OBJECTIVE}

This general objective has lead to the establishment of four main programme priorities that should be addressed in each project:

• Social inclusion and diversity
• Digital transformation
• Environment and climate action
• Promoting participation in democratic life

More information about these priorities can be found in the Erasmus+ programme guide:
> Priorities of the Erasmus+ programme

For general information about Erasmus+ and its different programme actions in higher education, take a look at the following websites:

• Overview of the available Erasmus+ grants
• Erasmus+ website of the European Commission
• Dutch National Agency

Leiden University has a strategic plan that outlines the University's priorities. The current strategic plan is called 'Innovating and Connecting' and is in effect from 2022 to 2027.

Read the strategic plan

Strategy on internationalisation
One of the strong characteristics that define the identity of Leiden University is the intrinsic international orientation. Realising that top-quality education and research is only possible within an international context, internationalisation has traditionally been part of the University's DNA. Since partnership and connection are the cornerstones of a successful university, we work together closely not only with our local, regional, and national partners, but also with our many international partners. Therefore, further internationalisation plays a central role in the strategic plan 'Innovating and Connecting', and was already at the core of the previous strategic plan 'Freedom to Excel' (2015-2021).

"Our strong international orientation and position ensure that we always maintain our international focus, including here in the Netherlands. It is this connection between local, regional, national, European and global that makes our University a strong and uniting international player, which benefits not only our students and scholars, but also society as a whole."

_{Strategic Plan, p. 15, INTRINSIC INTERNATIONAL ORIENTATION}

International cooperation is crucial in a society that is becoming increasingly complex and is itself characterised by increasing globalisation and internationalisation. As a university, we have a responsibility to respond to major societal issues and, on top of that, to ask questions that society may not ask. To achieve that, cross-border collaboration and exchange are essential. Internationalisation helps realise stronger connections on the three different levels outlined in the strategic plan: Between academic disciplines, between Leiden University and society, and within the university community.

1) Student international competences
Based on these connections, six interrelated strategic ambitions are outlined in the strategic plan. Although internationalisation plays an important role in all six ambitions, it is more explicitely mentioned in ambition 3, 'Future-proof development of students'. According to the third action line, every student must have international and intercultural competences:

"We will [...] aim to ensure that all students can develop in an international environment here, and can gain international experience and intercultural skills. The ‘global classroom’ provides students with the opportunity for this. [...] Additionally, we will look at ways to make international mobility and exchange as accessible as possible for students, exploring alternative forms from which students can choose to gain international experience for longer or shorter periods, in-person or online."

_{Strategic Plan, p. 34, 3. EVERY STUDENT WILL HAVE INTERNATIONAL AND INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCES}

2) The importance of international collaboration
In addition, internationalisation explicitly plays a central role in ambition 5, 'More value through strategic collaboration'. The fourth action line elaborates on the importance of international collaboration for Leiden University:

"Within Europe, we will intensify our collaborations and align them more closely, to prevent fragmentation and create greater synergy. Outside Europe, we will combine our interdisciplinary expertise [...] as an aspect of more far-reaching international collaboration, focusing particularly on countries in areas where several of our faculties and strategic partners already operate. In our partnerships we will be explicitly guided by our core values. We will additionally further build on strategic partnerships in and with Africa, based on our existing expertise in the African Studies Centre Leiden. We can also make excellent use of our knowledge and education institutes NIMAR in Morocco and NVIC in Egypt to further explore the possibilities for research and teaching."

_{Strategic Plan, p. 41, 4. FURTHER STRENGTHENING OUR INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS}

3) Professional development
Finally, internationalisation is highly important for ambition 6, 'Ample scope for talent and development'. Action line 4 (Strategic Plan, p. 44) is about the expansion of possibilities for professional development. International collaboration and exchange not only contribute to the professional development of our teaching staff, but also to that of our organisational and policymaking staff who need to keep up to date with the developments of their profession.

Although not all ambitions mention internationalisation explicitly, it is an underlying priority in all six ambitions. Appendix 1 of the strategic plan describes internationalisation as an ongoing development theme, because academic knowledge does not stop at our borders:

"With our Internationalisation Agenda we intend to further develop our international position in the areas of teaching, research and organisation. Our university functions as a 'local hub for global challenges'. We educate both Dutch and international students to become global citizens, and focus on (societal) issues close to home and far away. We gratefully use the knowledge and understanding that arise from combining national and international perspectives in our research and teaching."

_{Strategic Plan, p. 49, INTERNATIONALISATION}

Read more:

• Vision and strategy
• Institutes abroad