How will Swedish KTH students be affected by Brexit?
What changes can students at KTH expect now Britain is no longer a member of the EU?
We asked Åsa Carlsson, Head of Division at the International Relations Office, IRO, at KTH.
“In exiting from the EU, Britain has chosen not to participate in Erasmus+ for the 2021 to 2027 programme period. So for this period and beyond, it will no longer be possible for Swedish universities to seek financing for student mobility or for partnerships with British universities via Erasmus+,” Carlsson explains.
Swedish universities that currently have projects in Britain, (concerning e.g. student mobility within Erasmus+) will, however, be able to complete these.
And any Swedish colleges and universities that received Erasmus funding granted in the 2020 call for applications, will be able to complete their mobility projects in Britain.
Mobility projects within Erasmus+ usually last 24 months, which means that those projects whose 2020 applications were approved will end on 31 May 2022. There will be possiblitities to extend the time with additional 12 months.
“KTH intends to hold a dialogue with the British partner universities concerning the possibility of extending projects that were approved in 2020 for a further year, in order to be able to continue to send and receive students on exchange studies up to 31 May 2023,” says Carlsson.
From academic year 2023/2024, it will no longer be possible for Swedish students to receive an Erasmus grant for new exchange studies in Britain.
How will British students wanting to enrol on a programme at KTH be affected?
“British students that had already started their study programme by the autumn 2020 semester or earlier, will retain their status and not face tuition fees. British students who apply and start their study programme in Sweden in 2021 will be liable for fees.
British citizens who were resident in Sweden before and after year end 2020/2021 can apply to
Migrationsverket (the Swedish Migration Agency)
for residency status. This is yet another way for British students to avoid having to pay tuition fees.
Will KTH employees still be able to be offered language courses in Britain, such as in Cambridge?
“The language courses in Cambridge have partly been financed by Erasmus+. In this case too, there is a possibility of extending this project to 31 May 2023. It is possible that in the future, KTH will be able to offer language courses at universities in other countries that are members of Erasmus+, such as Ireland for example,” Carlsson adds.
Katarina Ahlfort
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