Call: Mobility of higher education students and staff

Actions supported under the Key Action 1 are expected to bring positive and long-lasting effects on the participants and participating organisations involved, as well as on the policy systems in which such activities are framed.

As regards students, trainees, apprentices, adult learners, pupils and young people, the mobility activities supported under this Key Action are meant to produce the main following outcomes:

• enhanced employability and improved career prospects;
• increased sense of initiative and entrepreneurship;
• increased self-empowerment and self-esteem;
• improved foreign language and digital competences;
• enhanced intercultural awareness;
• more active participation in democratic life and in society in general;
• better awareness of the European project and the EU common values;
• increased motivation for taking part in future (formal/non-formal) education or training after the mobility period abroad.

As regards staff, youth workers and professionals involved in education, training and youth, the mobility activities are expected to produce the following outcomes:

• improved competences, linked to their professional profiles;
• broader understanding of practices, policies and systems in education/learning, training or youth across countries;
• greater understanding of interconnections between formal and non-formal education/learning, vocational training and the labour market respectively;
• greater understanding and responsiveness to social, linguistic and cultural diversity;
• increased ability to address the needs of youth with fewer opportunities;
• increased opportunities for professional and career development;
• improved foreign language and digital competences;
• increased motivation and satisfaction in their daily work.

Activities supported under this Action are also expected to produce one or more of the following outcomes on participating organisations:

• increased capacity to operate at EU/international level: improved management skills and internationalisation strategies; reinforced cooperation with partners from other countries; increased allocation of financial resources (other than EU funds) to organise EU/international projects; increased quality in the preparation, implementation, monitoring and follow up of EU/international projects;
• innovative and improved way of operating towards their target groups, by providing for example: more attractive programmes for students, trainees, apprentices, young people and volunteers in line with their needs and expectations; improved qualifications of teaching and training staff; improved processes of recognition and validation of competences gained during learning periods abroad; more effective activities for the benefit of local communities, improved youth work methods and practices to actively involve young people and/or to address disadvantaged groups, etc.;
• more modern, dynamic, committed and professional environment inside the organisation: ready to integrate good practices and new methods into daily activities; open to synergies with organisations active in different social, educational and employment fields; planning strategically the professional development of their staff in relation to individual needs and organisational objectives; if relevant, capable of attracting excellent students and academic staff from all over the world.

What is a Mobility Project?

Organisations active in the fields of education, training and youth will receive support from the Erasmus+ Programme to carry out projects promoting different types of mobility. A mobility project will consist of the following stages:

• Planning (including defining the learning outcomes, activity formats, development of work programme, schedule of activities)
• Preparation (including practical arrangements, selection of participants, set up of agreements with partners and participants, linguistic/intercultural/learning- and task-related preparation of participants before departure);
• Implementation of the mobility activities;
• Follow-up (including the evaluation of the activities, the validation and formal recognition - where applicable - of the learning outcomes of participants during the activity, as well as the dissemination and use of the project's outcomes).

The Erasmus+ Programme reinforces the support offered to the participants of mobility activities in improving their foreign language competences before and during their stay abroad, including additional linguistic support grant for participants in long term mobility in vocational education and training (VET) and school education fields. An Erasmus+ Online Language Support (OLS) service provides the participants in mobility activities with the opportunity to assess their knowledge of two languages as well as to follow online language courses to improve their competences. In addition to online language courses, the OLS will provide several other features such as assisted and blended learning tools to enable teachers and youth workers to provide extra support to their learners and social networking feature to enable collaborative learning.
Furthermore, Erasmus+ offers space for developing mobility activities that involve partner organisations with different backgrounds and active in different fields or socio-economic sectors (e.g. traineeships of university students or VET learners in enterprises, NGOs, public bodies; teachers in schools following professional development courses in companies or training centres; business experts giving lectures or training in higher education institutions, etc.).
A third important element of innovation and quality of mobility activities is that Erasmus+ participating organisations have the possibility to organise mobility activities within a broader strategic framework and in the medium term.

Accreditation schemes play an important role in ensuring high impact of Key Action 1. The Erasmus Charter for Higher Education, the Erasmus accreditation for higher education mobility consortia and the Erasmus accreditations in the fields of VET, school education, adult education, and youth allow organisations to benefit from Key Action 1 on a continuous basis, letting them focus on longer-term objectives and institutional impact.

Depending on the profile of participants involved, the following types of mobility projects are supported under Key Action 1 of the Erasmus+ Programme:

In the field of Education and Training:

• Mobility project for higher education students and staff;
• Mobility project for VET learners and staff;
• Mobility project for school pupils and staff;
• Mobility project for adult education learners and staff.

In the field of Youth:

• Mobility projects for young people - Youth exchanges
• Mobility projects for youth workers
• Youth participation activities

This action supports physical and blended mobility of higher education students in any study fields and cycle (short cycle, bachelor, master and doctoral levels). Students can either study abroad at a partner higher education institution or carry out a traineeship in an enterprise, a research institute, a laboratory, an organisation or any other relevant workplace abroad. Students can also combine a study period abroad with a traineeship, further enhancing the learning outcomes and development of transversal skills. While long term physical mobility is strongly encouraged, this action recognises the need to offer more flexible physical mobility duration to ensure the programme is accessible to students from all backgrounds, circumstances and study fields.

This action also supports higher education teaching and administrative staff to take part in professional development activities abroad as well as staff from the world of work to teach and train students or staff at higher education institutions. These activities may consist of teaching as well as training periods (such as job shadowing, observation periods, training courses).

Furthermore, this action supports blended intensive programmes, allowing for groups of higher education institutions to develop jointly blended mobility curricula and activities for students as well as academic and administrative staff.

Objectives of the Action

The objective of this action is to contribute to establishing a European Education Area as well as strengthen the link between education and research, to foster the critical thinking skills of students from all disciplines, and at all levels (including bachelor, master and doctoral levels). The objective is also to foster employability, social inclusion, civic engagement, innovation and environmental sustainability in Europe and beyond by enabling any student to have the opportunity to study or train abroad as part of their studies in order to:

• expose students to different views, knowledge, teaching and research methods as well as work practices intheir study field;
• develop their transversal skills such as communication, language, problem solving, inter-cultural skills and research skills;
• develop their forward looking skills, such as digital skills, that will enable them to tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow;
• facilitate personal development such as the ability to adapt to new situations and self-confidence.

The objective is also to enable any staff, including staff from enterprises, to teach or train abroad as part of their professional development in order to:

• share their expertise;
• experience new teaching environments;
• acquire new innovative pedagogical and curriculum design skills and digital skills;
• connect with their peers abroad to develop common activities to achieve the programme’s objectives;
• exchange good practices and enhance cooperation between higher education institutions;
• better prepare students for the world of work by involving staff from enterprises in courses.

In addition, the objective is to foster the development of transnational and transdisciplinary curricula as well as innovative ways of learning and teaching, including online collaboration, research-based learning and challenge-based approaches with the objective of tackling societal challenges.

Organisations with the following accreditation may apply for a grant:

• For an application as an individual HEI: higher education institutions established in a Programme Country and awarded with an Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE).
• For an application as a mobility consortium: coordinating organisations established in a Programme Country and coordinating a consortium awarded with an Erasmus accreditation for higher education mobility consortia. Organisations that do not hold a valid consortium accreditation can apply for this accreditation on behalf of a mobility consortium during the same call as when applying for a mobility project grant or a previous call. All the involved higher education institutions from Programme Countries must hold an Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE). These organisations will be eligible for a mobility project only if their application for the consortium accreditation is successful.

Higher education students and staff cannot apply directly for a grant; the selection criteria for participation in the mobility activities and in blended intensive programmes are defined by the higher education institution in which they study or are employed.

The number of organisations in the application form is one (the applicant). It is either an individual HEI or a mobility consortium coordinator established in a Programme Country.

During the implementation of the mobility project, a minimum of two organisations (at least one sending and at least one receiving organisation) from different Programme Countries must be involved.

For blended intensive programmes: in addition to the applicant, at least two HEIs from two other Programme Countries have to be involved in the organisation of the blended intensive programme.

Online application at: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/app-forms/af-ui-opportunities/#/erasmus-plus/open-calls/key-action/43353406

A model application form is avaiable at: Mobility of higher education students and staff (KA131-HED)

European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) - https://www.eacea.ec.europa.eu/index_en

Since 2006, the European Education and Culture Executive Agency has been a catalyst for projects in education, training, youth, sport, audiovisual, culture, citizenship and humanitarian aid. On behalf of the European Commission, EACEA strives to foster innovation in these areas, always in a spirit of cross-border cooperation and mutual respect.

EACEA are project managers, facilitators of knowledge exchange, and supporters of European projects that connect people and cultures.

National Agencies

To bring Erasmus+ as close as possible to the participants and make sure it works well across different countries, the EU works with National Agencies to manage the programme.

The National Agencies are based in Programme Countries and their role involves

• providing information on Erasmus+
• selecting projects to be funded
• monitoring and evaluating Erasmus+
• supporting applicants and participants
• working with other National Agencies and the EU
• promoting Erasmus+
• sharing success stories and best practices

The list of National Agencies can be found here. Countries not in the list of Programme countries may alternately have a National Erasmus+ Office.

National Erasmus+ Offices

National Erasmus+ Offices (NEOs) assist the European Commission and local authorities in the implementation of Erasmus+ in certain Partner Countries.

These countries are located in the Western Balkans, the Eastern and Southern Mediterranean and Central Asia. Russia also has a National Office.

Providing information on Erasmus+, monitoring and evaluating funded projects, assisting applicants and participants, supporting policy dialogue and maintaining contact with local authorities and EU Delegations are among the responsibilities of the NEOs.