Learning mobility (consisting of going abroad to study or undertake training) is one of the most successful European programmes (underpinned by the Bologna process and the European Higher Education Area) and it is directly aimed at the younger generations, who are also “digital natives”, and thus they expect to be serviced digitally and fast. DE4A will enable them to reap the benefits of borderless digital services, education and living.

Europe has around 4,000 higher education institutions, with over 19 million students and 1.5 million staff. According to available statistics, procedures like submitting an initial application for admission to public tertiary education are likely to involve a large number of annual cross-border transactions: nearly 700,000 EU citizens were enrolled in a university in another Member State in 2016. In total, at least 1.6 million students were undertaking tertiary level studies in a Member State other than that of their origin in 2016.

The Studying Abroad pilot aims to simplify cross-border interactions for students engaging with procedures, systems and platforms used by higher education establishments. Three use cases will demonstrate how administrative burdens can be reduced, by re-using evidence from trustworthy sources, as well as strengthening security levels for cross-border services and increasing the use of electronic identities. 
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The three use cases are: