It has been quiet for the last months on our blog. Therefore, we’d like to give you an update on what we’ve been working on over the past months.

As you might have seen on our Facebook page, the Erasmate team was joined by a new partner repsonible for IT few months ago. Would you like to get to know Martin a little better? Check out his LinkedIn profile.

After a thorough analyses of the backend of our current platform, we decided to re-build the platform. Few important goals for the new platform are to increase speed of the website, limit fraud sensitivity and allow easy expansion of Erasmate’s services in the future.

Over the past months our team has been working on the development the new platform. Now, technically the platform is almost ready to go online and we’re really excited about this. However, we’d like to present you our new platform including a new look and feel. We have had various talks with designers and will decide on which designer to continue with beginning of January. From then, we expect about 1-2 months to entirely re-design the platform and implement the various design changes. Meaning, our target is to surprise you with Erasmate’s new platform and identity by the end of February 2012. From then we’ll inform you about the various changes made.  A tip of the iceberg: we’ll implement an auto-matching system for all uploaded search-profiles and offered housing on our website.

After the launch of our new housing module, we’ll continue with the expansion of our services and build a ‘university module’. Curious on what that exactly is? Stay tuned and follow our blog.

Best regards,
Lars, Martin and Jorn

Since the launch of Erasmate we have helped many people finding and renting rooms, unfortunately, we also received few emails reporting scammers on our platform. Although we have warned several times to be cautious when it comes to transferring money, some people became victim of scams.

Therefore we’d like to share a black list of users identified as potential scammers:

- Daniela Andress Esser
- Dario Robles / Robles Liro
- Hooper Jane
- Jordan Cowell
- Julia Torrado
- Lea Ginette / Lea Gen / Lea Genetti
- Laureen Mourus
- Malleville Adrien
- Mery Sankara
- Michael Cheng / Michael Ruben
- Roberto Lara / Roberto Lar
- Sonia Koneh
- Soren Wengerowsky
- Susan Rob / Rob James / James Robinson
- Sven Thorwarth
- Tessa Anouk

Although these users have been blocked from our system, they often re-register under other email accounts. Do you recognize part of their names in usernames or email addresses, stop your conversation!

How can you recognize a potential scammer?
* Invites to communicate via private email accounts (instead of via the Erasmate mailing system)
* Question to transfer X months of rent and deposit
* Question to transfer money via WesternUnion

We recognize that all scammers ask for payments via WesterUnion. We recommend to only make payments to personal bank accounts.

In case you belief to be in touch with a scammer, quite your conversation and report to us!

We’re working hard on preventing scams. Soon our new platform with increased security standards will be launched in order to minimize scam activity.

Do not hesitate to spread this blog post to friends using our platform in order to increase awareness!

Best regards Your Erasmate Team

June and July are for most students the months in which they get to hear whether they can participate in the upcoming Erasmus exchange semester from September 2011 onwards.

Have you been accepted? Congrats! You’re awaiting one of the most beautiful experiences in your student life!

The Erasmate team notices an enormous increase in number of people visiting the website each day. Via this blog post we’d like to remind you of a few things:

* Please communicate via our mail functionality in order to minimize the risk of being scammed. We’re daily checking on the validity of our users and directly block users who appear to be unreliable lessors. When you communicate via the platform you’ll directly notice when someone is blocked.

* Next to the arrangements of your housing, you can book flights, arrange travel insurances, and buy your travel guides at Erasmate.com.

* Erasmate.com offers a legally binding rental contract in order to increase your security when renting or lessing an apartment. As we’re seeing an enormous increase in traffic the last months, we’d like to celebrate this and offer you our tenancy agreement for a 50% DISCOUNT until the end of August.

* We’d like to thank all of you who gave us input for the new website. We’re working hard in order to meet your wishes…Stay tuned!

Mates, live with passion and enjoy your journey!
Your Erasmate Team

Erasmate is a free platform to use for all of you. This unfortunately means that some people are using the website in order to try to earn a little extra money on the side. We recommend to never pay money in advance in case you’re asked to do so. Deposits can obviously be agreed upon, however, we recommend to only pay deposits after seeing the property.

In order to provide both lessor and lessee with extra security on the validity of agreements made, we offer a legally binding rental contract. As the ‘BuyNow’ button currently doesn’t function well, you can send an email to info@erasmate.com indicating to be interested in a rental contract and we’ll make sure to send you a PDF by email after receiving payment via bank transfer. As we realize it’s a bit more work to arrange the payment via bank transfer, we currently offer our rental contract for a discounted price of €24,95

We hope to have warned you and provided you a solution!

Best, Jorn

This is how it works:

In case you’ll be approached by email via our system, inform us directly at info@erasmate.com. Stay cautious and be aware with personal details!

On 8 March 2011 a press release about Erasmate appeared in Nuffic’s Transfer Magazine.

Nuffic’s motto is Linking Knowledge Worldwide. And everything we have done since our foundation in 1952 has been driven by this mission.

Transfer Magazine keeps you up to date on the development of internationalization of higher education.

In case you read Dutch and you’re interested in reading the article recently published, check out page 28/29 by clicking on the image below:

In order to increase international mobility of students further, the Bachelor/Master system was introduced in early 2000s. The system allows better comparison of the various study programmes in Europe and enables flexible learning pathways.

This BBC video gives an example of UK students doing their study in the Netherlands as universities in their home country are over subscribed and tuition fees are high.

The increase in student mobility calls for a webportal where students can easily find housing abroad! Welcome to Erasmate!

On our way to reach 100 years old, ISEG is an institution with its doors firmly open to the future! Erasmate is a step towards modernisation and an efficient way to deal with the new frame of international cooperation, like the increasing numbers of outgoing and incoming students, teachers or non-academic staff, making the world a better and smaller place to live in.

Don’t forget to check out there personal page on Erasmate to see an overview of the different Bachelor, Master and PHD programs they have to offer: http://www.erasmate.com/iseg.html

Today we’d like to share a post by Johann Quassowski: an Erasmus student going to Berlin upcoming semester, and employed by Biodeals.

Are you doing your Erasmus in Germany next semester? If yes, and if you’d like to diversify your diet beyond bratwurst and beer, I recommend Biodeals. Biodeals offers different bio, organic or fair-trade products every week against discounted student-friendly prices.

Sign up for our newsletter in order to receive even more discount on your first purchase.

Party hard, but don’t forget your healthy additions to your student-diet!

Additional information: you’ll need to understand/read some German to order and, so far, we are not delivering outside of Germany.

PS: Johann is going to Berlin next semester. Are you still looking for a roommate? Check out his profile here.