When two Unisa students boarded flights to undertake a European Union-funded Erasmus+ semester programme at the Romanian-American University in Bucharest, Romania, they expected a purely academic exchange. However, what they found on arrival was a truly transformative experience. For Nokuthula, a postgraduate law student, and Mpho, an undergraduate business student, the programme opened doors, social circles and perspectives that reshaped how they see their studies and themselves as future young leaders. Their story demonstrates why university students from South Africa and other parts of the continent, especially those with little prior international mobility experience, should consider partaking in international mobility programmes such as the Erasmus+.
The Erasmus+ is best known in Europe for promoting student mobility and institutional cooperation. For young Africans such as Nokuthula and Mpho, the programme offers clear, high-value opportunities. Academically, it exposes learners to different pedagogies: teaching that prioritises case studies, class dialogue, and visual learning to complement and deepen knowledge gained at home. Such exposure is particularly beneficial for fields with international dimensions, business, law, and public policy, where comparative perspectives and transnational networks enhance employability and research potential.
Nokuthula and Mpho both reported experiences of participating in classes that were inclusive and applied, helping them link theory to practice in ways their home programmes had not. Through the Erasmus+ programme, Nokuthula and Mpho developed the ambition to participate in global platforms because they realised that the knowledge, skills, and experiences they had gained could make a meaningful contribution not only in their home country but around the world. Being part of the programme opened their minds to endless possibilities and showed them that learning, collaboration, and creating positive change are not limited by borders. It inspired them to think bigger, embrace new opportunities, and believe that they can make an impact wherever they go.
Beyond academics, mobility under Erasmus+ accelerates intercultural competence. Living and studying in Romania, the two students formed friendships with Romanians and fellow Erasmus+ peers from other regions, learned cultural practices firsthand, and practised languages in authentic contexts. These everyday interactions build soft skills such as adaptability, communication, crosscultural negotiation, which employers and global research partners increasingly value. Moreover, upon their return to their home countries, the students often become ambassadors, strengthening institutional links and enriching campus life with new perspectives.
In addition to the cultural benefits, Erasmus+ also provides structural benefits, which include credit recognition through the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), and funding that offsets travel and living costs. For many African students, access to reliable funding and clear credit transfer pathways can make a semester abroad feasible rather than aspirational. Institutional cooperation projects under Erasmus+ can further build capacity at African universities, supporting curriculum internationalisation, staff exchanges, and joint research that outlives individual mobility episodes.
Yet the promise of Erasmus+ is not automatic. Several challenges blunt its reach and impact for students from African universities, especially those with limited prior mobility experience.
First, information and readiness gaps are significant. Many students and even some international offices in universities lack clarity about the application processes, eligibility criteria, learning agreements, and recognition of credits. Without targeted pre-departure briefing and academic advising, students risk arriving unprepared for different classroom norms or returning with unrecognised credits. Nokuthula and Mpho were not immune from these challenges, however, their successful integration speaks to strong facilitation and continuous communication with the host university.
Even though the level of support has been observed to be uneven across institutions and participants, soft relations and proactiveness is required from both the host and the sending university. Failing which, the students may have unpleasant experiences that could deter participation in the future or with fellow students. For example, the financial and administrative handling of the grant, currency exchanges, the timing of the release of funds may often have a huge impact on the student experiences and hamper progress in settling in a foreign country. Lengthy visa processes and bureaucratic institutional delays may add stress and anxiety on the students’ travel preparations. For students from lower-income backgrounds, even if subsidised, undertaking international mobility may seem to be out of reach, particularly without any additional scholarships or institutional top-ups.
Even though most host universities, particularly in Europe, deliver their programmes in English, local languages and informal cultural codes could be an impediment to the student’s daily life experiences. Students with limited foreign language skills may find it difficult to integrate, affecting their ability to participate academically and socially. Adequate pre-departure language support and mentorship programmes are essential but not always readily available for implementation.
Moreover, international mobility is often perceived as designed mainly for students who excel in their academics as well as the wealthy who have prior travel experience. This perception or approach could marginalise many capable students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as those who may struggle academically but demonstrate strong social aptitude.
For the Erasmus+ and many other similar mobility programmes to become genuinely transformative options for students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds who have limited mobility experience, they must address the significant practical and structural barriers that could hinder equitable participation and limit the long-term benefits students might gain. Therefore, participating universities such as Unisa must make significant contributions in this space, particularly if they wish to scale participation among these specific students. In this regard, the following stand out for prioritisation :
First, facilitate access: make Erasmus+ and similar programmes more visible, affordable, and administratively navigable so that first-generation mobile students — many juggling work, family responsibilities, and financial constraints — see participation as realistic, not out of reach.
Second, sustain impact: integrate returning students into curriculum development, peer mentoring, and institutional partnerships so that what they learned abroad benefits the wider Unisa community.
Concretely, this means organising robust pre-departure preparation sessions covering academic
expectations, credit recognition, mental health resources, and practical logistics; top-up funding or emergency allocations for students with demonstrated financial need; and clear learning agreements that align Unisa’s curricula and credit systems as well as the ECTS so that credits transfer could be carried out without administrative blockages. Therefore, the university should urgently implement a credit-transfer system that ensures students participating in semester-long mobility programs receive appropriate credits and do not lose academic progress as a result of their participation.
Additionally, Unisa’s global standing and identity as a large open-distance e-learning (ODeL) institution uniquely position it to redefine student mobility/ exchange programmes for its students. Because of its reach and ODeL model, Unisa can leverage digital tools and newly developed virtual mobility programmes to create transformational opportunities that reach hundreds of thousands of learners who are spread across the country and in the continent. Even a modest, well-supported increase in outbound mobility, including short virtual exchanges, blended placements, and micro-internships, would produce an enormous impact across our student body.
In conclusion, to convert aspiration into dependable pathways, we must tackle the practical bottlenecks, which include, among others, sustainable funding, pre-departure preparation, formal recognition of learning, and equitable access for students, particularly those without prior mobility experience. Once these essential elements are addressed, virtual and blended mobility in higher education would not just be add-ons, they would be reliable and provide credit-bearing options which are integrated into academic progression. Thus, Unisa, as an ODeL institution, provides a rare opportunity to scale inclusive internationalisation with targeted investment and robust systems for preparation and recognition, which would enable the university an opportunity to turn small increases in mobility participation into widespread, life-changing outcomes for students, particularly those from underprivileged backgrounds.
Magabane is the Director for Internationalisation & Partnerships, and Mathonsi is a member of the National Student Representative Committee, both at Unisa.
