Erasmus+ Programme

Education & Culture

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/promotional_en.html

Programme overview

Erasmus+ is the European Union's programme for education, training, youth and sport. It takes the place of all previous EU programmes for lifelong learning, youth and sport as well as European cooperation programmes in higher education. The programme comprises 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 of political reforms

You will find details of Erasmus+ on the European Commission website:

http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/index_en.htm

The funding is mainly used to increase mobility within Europe. The aim is for some two million students to benefit from Erasmus+ by the year 2020, including more than quarter of a million from Germany. The programme covers students in all phases of their studies up to doctorate level who wish to take part of their degree or an internship in a foreign country. In future it will also be possible to do an internship abroad after completing a degree course. Finally, Erasmus+ also offers loans at low interest rates for students who wish to do an entire master's degree in another European country.

What is more, Erasmus+ contributes to the ongoing internationalisation of universities by supporting short-term lectureships and professional development programmes for teaching and administration staff.

Funding for most mobility measures and Strategic Partnerships are awarded by the National Agencies in the 33 programme countries (28 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, FYR Macedonia, Norway, Turkey). The DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) continues to perform this function in Germany.

The following mobility measures are supported under the umbrella of the EU education programme Erasmus+:

Student Mobility for Studies (SMS)
Student Mobility Placements (SMP)
Teaching Staff Mobility (STA)
Training Staff Mobility (STT)

Every higher education institution taking part in the EU programme for general and vocational education, youth and sport in 2014-2020 (referred to hereinafter as "the programme") or would like to apply to do so must have a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE).

The ECHE is awarded by the European Commission. It demonstrates that a university meets all the requirements for successful participation in the Erasmus+ programme.

The European Commission requires both the ECHE, the European Policy Statement (EPS), and the Erasmus Student Charta (ESC) to be published on the university website.

Disclaimer

"This project is funded with the support of the European Commission. The originator bears sole responsibility for the content of this publication [notification]; the Commission is not liable for any further application of the information contained therein."

Reference to DAAD

Further information and advice on Erasmus+ mobility programmes is available from

DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service)

National Agency for EU Higher Education Cooperation
Kennedyallee

5053115 Bonn

Tel.: +49(0)228/882-8877

Fax: +49(0)228/882-555

E-mail: erasmus@daad.de

Homepage: www.eu.daad.de

Logo: www.daad.de/portrait/presse/logos/08959.de.html

Funding

Funding SM ( study/ internship abroad)

Financial support for Erasmus+ student stays is based on the different costs of living in the destination countries ("Program Countries").

The funding rates for student mobilities (SMP and SMS) are based on country groups I to III. For more information, please refer to "Study Abroad" and "Internship Abroad". There you will also find the current funding amounts.

Erasmus+ interns receive a monthly topup in addition to the funding rates.

Funding ST (personal- and lecture mobility)

Financial support for Erasmus mobility for teaching purposes (STA) or for continuing education and training (STT) is based on the different costs of living in the destination countries ("program countries"). Uniform daily rates apply for funding by German universities.

For Germany, fixed daily rates apply for stays in the three country groups up to the 14th day of the stay; from the 15th to the 60th day of the stay, the subsidy is 70% of the daily rates mentioned:

These daily rates are supplemented by travel costs depending on the actual distances between the origin and destination of the mobility, which are determined uniformly throughout Europe using a calculation tool.

Outgoing SM

SMS

Erasmus+ enables students to study in another participating country after completing the first year of their degree so as to extend their social and cultural skills and improve their job prospects. In doing so they will become familiar with the academic system at a foreign university as well as the teaching and learning methods used.

Funding is provided for such study periods in all programme countries.

The benefits of studying abroad

Recognition of courses taken abroad
Exemption from fees at host university
Funding of additional costs incurred by studying abroad
Support in preparation (in terms of culture, language and organisation)
Special subsidies for students with children
Special subsidies for students with a disability

Erasmus+ enables students to complete a part of their degree in another European country at any stage of their studies:

Up to twelve months respectively of a bachelor's/master's degree or doctorate, 24 months for comprehensive courses (Staatsexamen etc.).
Study periods in another European country of up to 3-12 months' duration each (multiple periods also permitted)
Internships in another European country of up to 2-12 months' duration each (multiple periods also permitted)
Internships within one year after completion of a study phase (graduate placements) providing the application is made during the last year of the study phase.

Students who wish to take their entire master's degree in another European country can take out alow-interest bank loan.

Requirements for Erasmus study abroad

Regular registration at a German university
Completion of the first year of a degree
Study period at a partner university with which the home university has concluded an inter-institutional Erasmus agreement
Home and host university have a valid Erasmus university charter (ECHE)

SMP

Erasmus enables students to do internships in companies or organisations in another European country.
Funding is provided for such internships in all programme countries.

Benefits of an Erasmus internship abroad

EU internship contract between university, company and student
Academic recognition of the internship
Support provided during the internship by a contact partner at the home university and at the company
Funding of additional costs incurred by being abroad
Support in preparation (in terms of culture, language and organisation)
Special subsidies for students with children
Special subsidies for students with a disability

Requirements for an Erasmus internship abroad

Regular registration at a German university
Home and host university have a valid Erasmus university charter (ECHE)
Funding is not provided for internships at European institutions and organisations, national diplomatic missions and organisations which administer EU programmes

Selection criteria

The selection and award procedure for Erasmus+ must be fair, transparent, coherent and duly documented. The relevant documents must be made available to all individuals involved in the selection process. All potential participants are to be informed of the funding criteria. These criteria also apply to zero-grant students.

In the interests of the required transparency, the DAAD NA urgently recommends project sponsors to publish readily retrievable information on the Erasmus+ programme as well as application and funding criteria on their web pages (international office or faculty).

Mandatory language tests

As of October 2014, the European Commission plans to provide an online language test in the five main languages (DE, EN, ES, FR, IT, NL). All students/graduates are required to take this in the working language both after selection/prior to the start of mobility and after completion of the period abroad*. However, it is not a selection criterion for Erasmus+ funding and does not apply to native speakers: it is intended to provide Erasmus+ participants with documentation of their current language level after selection for the programme. It should be taken both before and after the period spent in the foreign country so as to generate comparable results and allow participants to measure their progress in language learning.

Systematic, Europe-wide assessment of the development of individual language skills makes it possible to measure the effectiveness of Erasmus+.

The online test therefore has nothing to do with any language level specifications contained in inter-institutional agreements (IIA) and Learning Agreements (LA). These skills must be demonstrated by participants by other means during the selection process.

Erasmus+ Student Charter

The "Erasmus+ Student Charter"German/Englisch sets out the rights and responsibilities of students and must be issued to all students before they go abroad.

Note on special financial assistance

Erasmus+ aims to promote equality of opportunity and inclusion and for this reason, access to the programme is facilitated for learners from underprivileged backgrounds (in Germany this applies to those who are single parents while studying abroad) and with special needs.

Special financial assistance for disabled students

The European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education provides useful information on universities with access for the disabled: www.european-agency.org

Special flat-rate financial assistance for students with children

Students who take their child/children with them when studying abroad as part of the Erasmus+ programme and are single parents during the Erasmus+ mobility period are eligible for special flat-rate financial assistance. The maximum monthly amount is specified for three groups of countries.

Note on reporting obligation

All those who have received funding for an Erasmus+ mobility programme are required to submit a report using the Mobility Tool Plus after programme completion, along with the relevant documentary evidence (e.g. regarding duration of the stay).

*This only applies to mobility periods started after publication of the tool.

Mobility for teaching/study purposes (STA)

Erasmus+ supports guest lectureships at European partner universities who have a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE). The aim is for guest lecturers to reinforce the European dimension of the host university, supplement the latter's teaching programme and share their specialist knowledge which students who are not willing or able to study abroad.

If possible, this should involve the development of joint study programmes with guest universities as well as collaboration on teaching content and methods.

Staff from companies and organisations abroad can also be invited to German universities for teaching purposes.

Staff mobility must take place in a programme country which is not the country of the home university (except in the case of incoming mobility, see below) or the main country of residence of the individual in question.

Staff at a German university with ECHE may receive funding for visits to a host university with ECHE (outgoing mobility) for teaching purposes, and staff may be invited to a German university with ECHE who work at an institution involved in the labour market or in the areas of general or vocation education or youth (see Appendix C for examples) in another programme country (incoming mobility).

Teaching secondments within Europe last between two days and two months (not including travel periods); the programme should involve teaching of at least eight hours per stay or per week started.

The following individuals can receive funding:

Professors and lecturers employed by the university
Lecturers without reimbursement
Visiting lecturers with service contracts
Emeritus professors and retired teaching staff
Research assistants
Company staff

Mobility for professional development and further training purposes (STT)

Erasmus+ enables university staff to engage in professional development and further training in programme countries so as to extend internationalisation.

For the purpose of professional development and further training, staff at a German university with ECHE may receive funding for visits to a host university with ECHE or to an institution based in another programme country involved in the labour market or in the areas of general or vocation education or youth.

The period spent abroad is at least two days and no more than two months in each case.

STT provides funding for university staff in all areas. Examples: