Environmental education is an important field of study at the university level and also in the framework of adult education. Awareness about the environmental issues at global level is becoming increasingly important for the new society, representing one of the most significant factors for ensuring sustainability. In this respect, a number of European programs are addressed to the people willing to develop projects on this topic, aiming to stimulate the mobility of the involved staff, in order to share knowledge and best practices, ultimately resulting in setting up international cooperation networks.
The aim of this paper is to present considerations related to the applicability, implementation and outcomes of the most important European programs targeting higher education and international mobility, with a focus on environmental studies: EEA Grants, Erasmus+ and LIFE. These considerations are meant to raise the awareness level related to various financing mechanisms accessible to develop and support environmental education, thus enhancing preparedness to leverage them to the benefit of environmental education. The analysis of a number of implementation experiences and the results obtained in the framework of these programs has allowed us to present examples of good practices and also to formulate appreciations regarding the fulfilment of the programs’ objectives and also recommendations related to their continuation.
The methodology applied consisted in throrough relevant literature review, case studies related to the experiences of different actors engaged in mobilities in the framework of Erasmus+, EEA and LIFE programs, and the analysis of the different performance indicators of these programs, including questionnaires applied to the participants.
The primary conclusion of this paper is the need of a wider, comprehensive approach towards environmental sciences in higher education, throughout the development of curricula, and its harmonization with the current and also with the future labor market demands, as a basis for sustainable development.