Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is a cross-border exchange programme, which aims to help new, and aspiring entrepreneurs acquire relevant skills to run and grow a small business by working with an experienced entrepreneur in another country for up to six months.
The European Commission following an initiative of the European Parliament launched Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs in 2009. It is one of the key actions of the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan, which aims to reignite entrepreneurial spirit in Europe, support new businesses in crucial phases of their lifecycle and help them to grow.
Now in its 10th year, this popular programme has processed over 20,000 applications and facilitated close to 7,000 collaborations involving approximately 14,000 entrepreneurs from all over Europe.
"This popular programme has processed over 20,000 applications and facilitated close to 7,000 collaborations involving approximately 14,000 entrepreneurs from all over Europe"
Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs
In 2018, the programme expanded to include exchanges to non-European destinations (Israel, Singapore and the USA) in the new EYE Global Programme.
How it works
Registration for the programme is through the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs' website.
Both experienced practicing entrepreneurs who want to act as host and young individuals who want to start a business or has just started their own business register to participate in the programme. The host entrepreneurs (HE) outlines his/her experiences and knowledge about starting and running a business and the motivation behind their willingness to participate.
The new potential entrepreneurs (NE) submit a business plan for the potential (or new) business and express expectations for an exchange. Once registered, both parties are able to search for possible matches in the programme database. Once a potential match is identified the local support organization normally becomes involved providing guidance in preparing the required paperwork and formally approving the exchange.
Some important points for a satisfactory exchange include a mutual commitment agreement, agreed duration of stay and financial plan. The programme supports exchanges from one to six months and provides a subsistence stipend for new entrepreneurs (NE) to support their stay in the visiting country.
Interest and contact
Local support or Intermediary Organizations (IO) run Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs locally and guide entrepreneurs throughout the exchange.
DTU Skylab and DTU Entrepreneurship share responsibility as Intermediary Organizations in the Copenhagen area and welcome new and experienced entrepreneurs to the programme.
The joint DTU Skylab/DTU Entrepreneurship IO has already engaged the start-up community in Denmark, by identifying potential hosts who are benefiting from hosting competent European New Entrepreneur to boost different aspects of their business endeavours.
We are already seeing the establishment of promising exchanges between Danish Hosts and EU New Entrepreneurs and we strongly encourage both established start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs to join the programme to explore the possibilities for learning and sharing .
To get in touch with your local contact point to inquire about eligibility or just to satisfy your curiosity please email:
Karen Murdock at DTU Entrepreneurship kmur@dtu.dk or
Rasmus Gyldenkerne Deleuran DTU Skylab rasde@dtu.dk