(News updated 23 July to include related questions and answers)

The European Student Card Initiative aims to modernise and streamline digital processes for higher education institutions (HEIs) to implement mobility in the context of Erasmus+, and provide seamless access to services abroad for mobile students in the European Education Area.

Go to the European Student Card Initiative homepage

Jump down to read FAQs on the roadmap

2024: closing gaps and optimisation

The focus until the end of 2024 is on optimising the functioning of the Erasmus Without Paper (EWP) Network. This entails

• upgrading all connected systems to the latest version of the digital inter-institutional agreement
• supporting institutions not yet exchanging digital learning agreements to start doing so, to reach the target of 95% of learning agreements exchanged via the EWP Network by the end of 2025

The European Student Card Router (ESC-R) will be fully migrated to the European Commission’s cloud-based infrastructure. This will support the further development of virtual European Student Cards and access to a wider range of student services.

The European Commission will also consult stakeholders to prepare the ground for the future evolution of the ESCI, which will start in 2025.

2025: simplification and further processes

The interoperability action plan has improved the functioning of the EWP Network and most institutions are now exchanging digital agreements with their partners. However, consultations with stakeholders through the EWP Governance and EWP Champions have brought up the need to simplify current digital processes from a technical and business process perspective.

Furthermore, consultations have highlighted the need to roll-out further processes to the whole community to achieve more efficiency gains.

Stakeholders have also requested a public timeline for further developments of the ESCI. The timeline below illustrates the overall tentative planning.

January – June 2025

Building on existing processes, analyse and develop network enhancements to address current technical complexity and enable

• a simpler workflow for learning and inter-institutional agreements
• a digital multilateral agreement signature process
• preparation for support to once-only data principle in ESCI
• a virtual European Student Card in the Erasmus+ Mobile App
• ongoing preparation for wide scale use of nominations and transcripts of records 

July – December 2025

• support for migration to the simplified digital infrastructure and trainings for exchanges of inter-institutional agreements and learning agreements
• testing and preparation of migration to simplified digital infrastructure for digital mobility documents for inter-institutional agreements and learning agreements
• testing of nominations, and transcripts of records
• roll-out plan for wide scale use of digital nominations and transcripts of records

Beyond 2025

The developments above are essential to simplify administration and support the objectives of the next Erasmus+ programme, which aims to include digital processes for Erasmus+ student mobility for traineeships, staff mobility, and multilateral and international cooperation.