The Erasmus+ project is based on the college goal of providing opportunities for staff and students, to widen their knowledge and to introduce them to the world outside of the rural area of County Durham. Durham County has one of the lowest percentages of non UK citizens living in the region. The majority of our students are white students, born within 20 km of the institute. We aim to use the Erasmus+ funding to encourage students to travel and work outside of the UK. Many of our students come from socially deprived backgrounds and they have either no, or limited experience of life outside of this region. Those who have been fortunate enough to travel tend to have travelled to parts of Europe that have been “colonised” as tourist spots for UK customers. Those students who have taken the opportunity to undertake placements outside of the UK have all significantly benefitted from the experience. It sometimes takes a while for the students to realise how valuable the period outside of the UK has been (particularly in terms of self-development and cultural awareness). The reports they complete are completed on their return. If they were completed a year later the results would be very different. We accept far more Erasmus students into the organisation than we send out. Having those non English students in the classroom with local students really enhances the education of the UK students and is part of our international strategy (as part of an internationalisation @ home initiative). The project is used to develop the knowledge of teaching staff, both in terms of general development and within subject specific area. It also helps build the relationships which allow small groups of students to travel to institutions in Europe on non-EU funded ventures. Last year design, IT, Business and tourism students went to short events organised by Erasmus partner colleges. New College also belongs to a Network of institutes, Businet, which assists with the promotion of these weeks and assists in the promotion of Erasmus+ activities. As an institution we have the policy of encouraging non-teaching staff to spend time in partner institutions with Erasmus+ support. This widens their knowledge of their own field of work, but as important expanding their cultural awareness. An example was that one of the library staff returned from Finland this year with the idea of establishing a “loan and sharing of information and resources system” that can be utilised initially by partner institutions but potentially to a wider audience. We are a small institution with a relatively small number of international students and staff. The Erasmus programme allows our institution to enhance the learning environment and provide opportunities for our institute, for teaching and non-teaching staff and students.