The Erasmus Programme
Erasmus+ is the EU Programme for education, training, youth and sport. It brings together several previous programmes, such as Lifelong Learning, Youth in Action and the Erasmus Mundus programme for quality in higher education. The programme includes three key actions:
- Key Action 1: Learning mobility of individuals
- Key Action 2: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices
- Key Action 3: Support for policy reform
Learning Mobility
Studying Abroad
Erasmus+ enables students to study at a European higher education institution in another participating country after completing their first year of study, in order to expand their social and cultural skills and improve their career prospects. They become familiar with the academic system of a foreign institution as well as its teaching and learning methods.
Benefits of Studying Abroad
- Recognition of academic achievements abroad
- Exemption from tuition fees at the host institution
- Financial support for the additional costs of being abroad
- Preparatory support (cultural, linguistic, organisational)
- Special grants for students with children
- Special grants for students with disabilities
Erasmus+ enables students to spend time abroad during each phase of their studies in European countries participating in the programme:
- Up to 12 months each for Bachelor's, Master's and doctorate or 24 months for single qualification programmes (state examination, etc.)
- Stays abroad for study in other European countries of 3-12 months each (also several times)
- Traineeships in other European countries of 2-12 months each (also several times)
- Traineeships within one year after completion of a study phase (graduate traineeships), if the application was submitted within the final year of the study phase
Requirements for Erasmus Studies Abroad
- Standard enrolment at a German higher education institution
- Completion of the first academic year
- Study stay at a partner institution with which the home institution has concluded an Erasmus Inter-Institutional Agreement
- Both the home and the host universities have a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE)
Internship Abroad
Erasmus enables students to complete internships in companies or organisations in other European countries.
Benefits of an Erasmus Internship Abroad
- EU internship agreement between university, company and student
- Academic recognition of the internship
- Support during the internship from a contact person at the home university and a contact person at the company
- Financial support for the additional costs of being abroad
- Preparatory support (cultural, linguistic, organisational)
- Special grants for students with disabilities
Requirements for an Erasmus Internship Abroad
- Standard enrolment at a German higher education institution
- Both the home and the host universities have a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE)
- Internships in EU institutions and other EU bodies, including specialised agencies managing EU programmes, are not eligible for funding
Mobility of Individuals
Mobility for the purpose of teaching/staff mobility (STA)
Erasmus+ funds guest lectureships at European partner universities that have a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE).
Guest lecturers are intended to strengthen the European dimension of the host institution through their stay, supplement its range of courses, and impart their specialist knowledge to students who cannot or do not wish to study abroad.
Whenever possible, the development of joint study programmes between the partner universities and the exchange of teaching content and methods should play a role. Employees from foreign companies and organisations can also be invited to German universities for teaching purposes.
Staff mobility must take place in a programme country that is not the country of the sending institution (except for incoming mobility, see below) and not the country of primary residence of the person concerned.
For teaching purposes, staff from a German university with ECHE may be sent to a host university with ECHE (outgoing mobility), and staff from another institution in a another programme country who are working in the labour market or in the areas of education, training or youth (for examples see attachment C), may be sent to a German higher education institution with ECHE to teach (incoming mobility1).
Teaching stays within Europe last between 2 days and 2 months (in each case without travel times). The teaching workload is at least 8 hours per stay or per commenced week.
The following groups of people can be funded:
- Professors and lecturers with a contractual relationship to the university
- Unendowed lecturers
- Assistant lecturers with a contract for work and labour
- Emeritus professors and retired lecturers
- Research assistants
- Company employees
Mobility for Staff Training (STT)
Erasmus+ supports further training opportunities for staff at higher education institutions in programme countries to increase internationalisation. For training purposes, higher education staff from a German university with ECHE may receive funding for a stay at a host university with ECHE or any other institution established in another programme country and active in the labour market or in the areas of education, training or youth.
Stays abroad last between a minimum of 2 days and a maximum of 2 months.
Examples of Training Formats
- Observation
- Job shadowing
- Study visits
- Participation in workshops and seminars
- Participation in language courses
Benefits of an Erasmus+ Stay
- Stay is based on a well-coordinated programme
- Professional exchange of experience and new perspectives
- Strengthening of personal competencies
- Expansion and consolidation of networks
Student Mobility
Students receive:
- Subsidies for their stay abroad; amount depends on country of destination
- Recognition of academic achievements abroad
- Exemption from tuition, examination, laboratory and library fees at the host institution
- Support in preparing and implementing the study stay abroad (cultural, linguistic, organisational)
- Possibly an Erasmus+-funded online language course within the scope of Online Linguistic Support (OLS)
Grant Amounts
The following minimum and maximum grants for study visits apply. In Erasmus+, the grants for study visits are staggered according to three country groups. The amount of funding is determined by the home university within these ranges:
- Group 1 (250-500 euros/month): Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Irland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom
- Group 2 (200-450 euros/month): Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, Iceland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey
- Group 3 (150-400 euros/month): Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia
Staff Mobility
Financial support for Erasmus+ mobility measures for teaching or further training purposes is based on the cost of living in the country of destination (“programme country”). Uniform daily rates apply for funding by German universities.
Since Project 2014, the following fixed daily rates apply for four groups of countries up to the 14th day of the stay. From the 15th to the 60th day of the stay, the funding is reduced to 70% of the daily rates listed:
- Group 1: 160 euros/day for Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom
- Group 2: 140 euros/day for Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Romania, Turkey
- Group 3: 120 euros/day for Germany (incomer), Lithuania, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain
- Group 4: 100 euros/day for Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia
In addition to these daily rates, travel expenses are also subsidised. The amounts depend upon the real distance between place of departure and country of destination. They are uniformly determined in Europe using a cost calculator.
The following amounts are reimbursed per stay, depending upon the distance:
- 100 km – 499 km: 180 euros
- 500 km – 1,999 km: 275 euros
- 2,000 km – 2,999 km: 360 euros
- 3,000 km – 3,999 km: 530 euros
- 4,000 km – 7,999 km: 820 euros
- 8,000 km or more: 1,100 euros
Students
Students can find more information on application procedures under Opportunities Abroad for Students.
Selection of Students
Students first apply for Erasmus+ study visits at the International Office of Alanus University. After the application documents have been reviewed by the Erasmus coordinator, selected students are nominated for exchange at the partner university. Students will then be informed about the documents to be submitted to the partner institution.
The host university makes the final decision on which candidates will be admitted.
University Staff
Employees of Alanus University can find more information on application requirements on the page Information for University Staff.
The course catalogues are usually published here in mid-February (for the summersemester) and mid-August (for the winter semester) at the latest. The local students don't receive them earlier. Please contact the International Office for course catalogues of previous semesters.
Find here the courses usually offered for Erasmus-students:
The Erasmus+ programme includes 33 “programme countries”. Participants include all of the member states of the European Union plus 5 programme countries outside the EU.
Note
Degree-seeking students (only) must choose a host institution that has signed a cooperation agreement with Alanus University.
Erasmus+ has a budget of around 14.8 billion euros. More than four million people will have benefited from this EU funding by 2020. The 7-year programme aims to improve skills and employability and to promote the modernisation of education, training, child and youth welfare systems. Information on the Erasmus+ programme can be found on the website of the European Commission.
The funding mainly promotes mobility within Europe and since 2015, to a lesser extent, also with other parts of the world. Around two million students are expected to benefit from Erasmus+ by 2020, including over a quarter of a million from Germany. Students who wish to complete a partial course of study or a traineeship abroad can do so in all phases of their studies, including their doctoral work. For the first time, students can receive support for up to 12 months during their Bachelor's, Master's and doctoral programmes. In order to increase the financial incentive for a stay abroad, the monthly mobility allowance for students will also be increased, especially for host countries with higher costs of living. In the future, traineeships abroad will also be possible after graduation. Finally, Erasmus+ offers students wishing to complete an entire Master's programme in Europe the opportunity to take out a low-interest loan. Previous Erasmus Mundus excellence scholarships, which fund the entire Master’s studies of outstanding students in selected European Master’s programmes with joint degrees, will continue under Erasmus+.
Erasmus+ also contributes to the further internationalisation of higher education by funding short-term lectureship and training stays abroad for teaching and administrative staff. In addition, the universities can invite company employees from abroad for teaching stays and also participate in multilateral strategic partnerships with other European partners (also from the non-academic sector) and jointly develop innovative projects (e.g. in the field of curriculum development or on overarching educational topics). To promote cooperation with business and industry, Erasmus+ offers funding through the new Knowledge Alliances. Universities wishing to engage in capacity building in third-party countries may do so in the scope of the programme's international university partnerships.
In the 33 programme countries (28 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, FYR Macedonia, Norway and Turkey), the National Agencies allocate the funding for most mobility measures and strategic partnerships. In Germany, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) continues to perform this task.
By signing the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE)*, Alanus University has committed itself to a modernisation and internationalisation programme. The charter sets forth the basic quality standards for cooperation activities between higher education institutions at the European and international level within the scope of Erasmus+.
*This project has been funded with resources from the European Commission. This publication [communication] exclusively reflects the views of the author. The Commission cannot be held liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
For more information and advice on Erasmus+ mobility, please contact the
German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
National Agency for EU Higher Education Cooperation
Kennedyallee 50
53115 Bonn
Tel.: +49(0)800 2014 020
Fax: +49(0)228/882-555
E-mail: erasmus@daad.de
Website: www.daad.de
