SET - Sustainable Erasmus+ Travel

The European Green Deal advocates for a just transition to reduce the harmful impact of human activity on the environment. The Erasmus+ programme is rethinking its practices and raising awareness on the pressing need for a change. Reports have identified the biggest CO2 footprint of Erasmus+ comes from the travel to and from mobility, which makes this the most urgent area to act upon. Accordingly, a green top up amount for those using more sustainable means of transport was created in Erasmus+ starting from 2021. The SET project was designed to address the three following objectives:-Support the ongoing transition to a more environmentally sustainable Erasmus+ programme by researching the main features and reasoning behind students’ choices of transport to go on mobility;-Through the platform for the Sustainable Erasmus Travel, contribute to changing the narrative and promoting the journey to the Erasmus+ mobility as an educative and transformative experience to explore more European countries and enjoy the European citizenship to the fullest;-Recognise and visualise the added value of green travel by developing a prototype to recognise green soft skills.This will be achieved by analysing the travel patterns of students, including the implementation and use of the green top up, and assessing what tips the balance for students to use more sustainable means of transport. Secondly, we will set up an online competition for students to showcase the experience of their journey to and from their mobility destination through more sustainable modes of transport. Thirdly, we will produce a digital repository of green competencies gained when travelling sustainably and create a framework for the recognition of such skills. Finally, we will focus on the broad dissemination of the project results and their translation into concrete policy recommendations for Erasmus+ programme stakeholders.Overall, we seek to reach 1.5M students and 500 higher education staff across Europe.