Finding the right Erasmus+ partner abroad is the part of the process that most schools and colleges say worries them the most. Not the paperwork, not the budget, not even the logistics. The partner. It makes sense: you can learn the application process, you can get help with reporting, but how do you find a school or employer in another country that you’ve never worked with, in a sector you don’t know, in a city you’ve probably never visited? This guide explains how the process actually works, what makes a strong partnership, and how IBD Partnership Group approaches the challenge for the institutions we support.

Why finding a partner feels so difficult

Schools and colleges in the UK are brilliant at knowing their own students. They know the learning objectives, the sector priorities, the group dynamics, and what kind of experience would genuinely move the needle for their participants. What they don’t have, almost by definition, is a contacts book full of schools, colleges, and employers in Valencia, Stockholm, Lisbon, or Krakow who are ready, willing, and able to host a group of British students.

This isn’t a failure of effort. It’s simply a structural gap. Building an international partnership network takes years of relationship-building, repeat visits, and the kind of trust that only comes from actually delivering programmes together. Most schools don’t have that, and there’s no shortcut to developing it from scratch. The realistic options are to spend several years building it yourself, or to work with an organisation that already has it.

Schools: What a Good Partner School Looks Like

For school mobility projects, the host institution isn’t just a venue. It’s the educational heart of the programme. A good partner school is one whose staff are genuinely engaged with the visiting group, not just tolerating their presence; whose students are willing to collaborate on a shared project or activity; and whose day-to-day environment gives visiting students a real window into how education works somewhere else.

Geography and culture matter too. A host school in a city with good transport links, a manageable size, and a rich cultural environment gives visiting students more to engage with outside the classroom. When IBD arranged a visit to Trento in northern Italy for a Year 6 class from a London primary school, the city itself was part of the educational experience. The Dolomites, Roman ruins, museums, and castles gave the project a texture that a generic urban destination wouldn’t have. The host school opened its doors for collaborative workshops with Italian students, and the London pupils, many flying abroad for the first time, came home with confidence and cultural awareness that their teachers described as genuinely lasting.

That outcome required a host institution that was the right fit for a primary-age group, in a destination that had both educational and cultural richness, arranged by a team that already knew which schools in Trento would work and which wouldn’t. That knowledge doesn’t come from a Google search.

Employers: What a Good Work Placement Host Looks Like

For VET and work placement projects, the employer match is everything. A student placed in the wrong sector, with a supervisor who doesn’t have time to mentor them, in a workplace that can’t accommodate a non-native speaker, won’t get much from the experience. A student placed well will come back changed.

In early 2025, five Swedish students arrived in Portsmouth for a two-week Erasmus+ work placement organised by IBD. Jessica, Jasmine, Emelie, David and Max, aged 18 and 19, were placed across retail, print, healthcare, and customer service employers in the city. Each was given real daily responsibilities from day one, not observation roles. By the final week, all five were operating comfortably in a professional English environment, a step change from where they had started.

Max, aged 18, described what the placement gave him: “Using English in a different place, a different country, not just talking with friends in Sweden. That is what I came for and that is exactly what I got. Every day at work I had to think, speak and respond in English. It changes something in you.”

David, aged 19, captured the emotional side of it: “Travelling, seeing other places, living abroad and doing something you never thought you would be doing. I felt a bit outside at first, not knowing the place. But after a few days everyone was so kind and I realised I had nothing to worry about.”

Getting to that outcome required employers who understood what they were signing up for, who had worked with international placement students before, and who knew how to support a young person navigating a new city and a new workplace at the same time. These aren’t employers you find through a job board. They’re relationships built over years.

How IBD Approaches Partner Matching

IBD Partnership Group has been organising Erasmus+ and international mobility programmes since 2005. In that time, the team has built a network of more than 1,000 partner institutions and employers across Europe, covering schools, VET colleges, universities, businesses, and host families.

For IBD project manager Connie, finding the right partner is one of the most rewarding parts of the work. Matching a school’s learning objectives to the right institution abroad, bridging two different educational cultures, and building a connection that genuinely benefits both sides is a challenge that never gets old. The best partnerships are the ones where both schools feel like they gained something, not just the group that travelled.

When a new school comes to IBD with a project in mind, the conversation about partners starts early. What sector? What age group? What are the learning objectives? What kind of environment would challenge these students in the right way? The answers shape which partners IBD approaches, drawing on two decades of relationships rather than starting from scratch each time.

The eTwinning Route

For schools that want to find a partner independently before working with IBD or any other support organisation, eTwinning is the most accessible starting point. It’s a free European platform that allows schools to connect with other schools across Europe for collaborative projects, and it has been used by hundreds of thousands of institutions since its launch. It won’t give you the depth of a pre-existing relationship, but it’s a legitimate way to make an initial contact and test whether a working relationship is possible before committing to a funded project together.

The honest caveat is that eTwinning connections made cold take time to develop into something substantial. Finding a school on a platform is not the same as having a school that will reliably show up, engage your students, and deliver on what was agreed. That reliability comes from track record, and track record takes time.

What Makes a Partnership Last

The partnerships that work year after year have a few things in common. Both sides are clear on what the visiting group needs. Communication before the visit is specific, not vague. The host institution or employer has a named contact who takes responsibility for the visit rather than treating it as a secondary task. And the experience is reciprocal in some meaningful sense, both sides feel that hosting or being hosted added something to their own institution.

The partnerships that don’t work usually break down at the same point: mismatched expectations, unclear communication about what the visiting group would actually be doing, or a host who agreed in principle but wasn’t genuinely prepared in practice. IBD’s role is to manage this before it becomes a problem, which is exactly what the preparatory visit is designed to do.

Planning Ahead for 2027

The UK rejoins Erasmus+ from January 2027, with applications expected to open in November 2026. For schools and colleges thinking about a partnership project, now is the right time to start exploring options, not because applications are imminent, but because the groundwork, identifying a destination, thinking through learning objectives, beginning conversations with potential partners, takes longer than most institutions expect.

IBD has supported institutions across the UK and Europe through this process for over 20 years. If you’re not sure where to start, or which destination and partner type is the right fit for your group, our team can give you straightforward advice based on what has actually worked for schools like yours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do we need to find our own Erasmus+ partner school or employer?

Not necessarily. You can work with an organisation like IBD that has an established partner network, or find a partner independently through platforms like eTwinning. Most schools find that working with an experienced delivery partner gives them access to relationships and local knowledge they couldn’t build themselves in a reasonable timeframe.

How long does it take to find a suitable Erasmus+ partner?

Through IBD’s existing network, a suitable partner can typically be identified within a few weeks of understanding your project’s objectives and destination preferences. Building a partnership from scratch independently takes considerably longer, often a full academic year or more before a relationship is solid enough to build a funded project around.

Can we choose the destination country for our Erasmus+ project?

Yes. Erasmus+ doesn’t prescribe which countries you must partner with, beyond the requirement that the partner organisation is in an eligible country. IBD can advise on which destinations are likely to work well for your specific project type, age group, and learning objectives.

What happens if the partnership doesn’t work out during the project?

IBD manages the relationship with the host institution or employer throughout the project, including a preparatory visit before the main mobility to assess the partnership in person and address any concerns before the group arrives. Issues that arise during a project are handled by IBD’s on-the-ground support team.

Can UK schools start building Erasmus+ partnerships before 2027?

Yes, and it’s worth doing. The application process and partner conversations can begin well before the UK’s formal participation starts. IBD can support UK schools in identifying and approaching potential partners now, so they’re ready to move quickly when applications open in November 2026.

IBD Partnership Group has been connecting schools and colleges with partner institutions and employers across Europe since 2005. If you’re thinking about an Erasmus+ project and want to talk through which destination and partner type is right for your group, get in touch with our team today.