The Erasmus+ Master Loan Guarantee Scheme was launched earlier this year by the European Commission and the EIF through a call for banks to sign up. The scheme will receive over €500 million from the Erasmus+ budget, which will help to raise up to €3 billion in loans for Europe's young talent. Overall, the scheme aims to support 200.000 students who want to obtain a Master degree abroad.
Under the scheme, students can receive up to €12,000 for a one-year Master's course and up to €18,000 for a two-year Master's course. The European Commission has made sure that these loans are offered at favourable terms. For example, they do not require collateral from students or parents and offer a favourable interest rate and delayed pay-back options. More details on the scheme can be found on the Erasmus+ Master Loan and MicroBank websites.
All students benefitting from an Erasmus+ grant, scholarship or loan will now also be able to receive support and guidance from the new Erasmus+ Student and Alumni Association (ESAA) to be launched on 12June at an event in Brussels. The new association, which will represent over 3 million Erasmus+ students in the period until 2020, will bring together four existing associations and their local networks (Erasmus Mundus Students and Alumni Association, Erasmus Student Network, garagErasmus (gE) and OCEANS network).
