International Credit Mobility (KA107/171)

UP contact person

• Mgr. Eva Ohnisková, Dis. - coordinator for student mobilities - study stays
• Mgr. Marie Raková - coordinator for student mobilities - traineeships

1.  Information for prospective applicants

What are the conditions of participation?

• A valid inter-institutional agreement has to be in place before implementation can take place.
• The student is registered at an accredited study programme of the UP (Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctoral study programme).
• The student has completed at least the first year of HE studies (full-time, part-time or distance study).
• The duration of the student mobility will be a minimum of 3 months (trimester) and maximum of 12 months – always within one academic year.
• The total maximum of all Erasmus+ study mobilities and Erasmus+ traineeships per study cycle is 12 months (including LLP Erasmus mobilities).
• For the entire duration of the planned mobility you will be a UP student (it is not possible to terminate or suspend your studies at PU prior to or in the course of your mobility).
• Selection criteria – HE level, transparent, fair, coherent, documented, public.
• The OLS online linguistic support is not included.

What do I need to do to be able to join the programme?

• Find out how the programme is organized at the faculty. The best way to do this is to contact the IR officer at the Dean’s Office of the relevant faculty.

• If you have the name of the programme coordinator at the department, please refer directly to the department. An important factor is whether the faculty/department has a student exchange agreement or agreements compliant with your study course and language skills.
• Find out the requirements and dates of the competitive selection. The criteria and dates are specified by the faculty/department. Typically it is December and February.
• Investigate the consequences of the exchange programme for your studies at UP (recognition of courses studied abroad, the need to prolong your graduation date, an individual study plan).
• Once the results of the competitive selection have been posted, please follow instructions in the section below: Instructions for selected students.

Grant for students

• Erasmus+ grants are designed to cover a part of student mobility costs and contribute to the increased costs that the mobility period abroad generates.
• Grants are paid by the UP economic department from the Erasmus+ financial resources, the International Credit Mobility project.
• The grant has 2 components – mobility costs and travel costs.
• A grant for outbound students equals 700 EUR per month.
• For the scholarship purposes, one month equals 30 days. If the student mobility does not last for a whole number of months, the grant for the last month is calculated on the basis of the number of days (one day = 1/30 of the monthly rate).
• Travel costs depend on the distance of the destination:

• Grants are paid based on signing the Grant Agreement – before mobility.
• Grants are transferred as a lump sum into the bank account of the student (a Czech bank account in CZK or EUR).
• Financial aid cannot be used to cover costs that are already covered from other EU activities/programmes. Students taking part in Erasmus Mundus (Joint Master Degree) cannot be at the same time beneficiaries of Erasmus+.

 Insurance

• Travel insurance is covered by Palacký University.
• The same conditions as in the classic Erasmus+ apply. See Travel insurance.

 Visa requirements

• For visa requirements, please refer to the website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

 Academic recognition

• Students are required to earn a minimum of 20 ECTS credits per semester during their Erasmus+ study abroad. This applies to the Bachelor’s and Master’s study programmes.
• The recommended number of credits in study plan is 20‐30 ECTS credits per semester. If the student fails to meet conditions defined in Section 6 of the Grant Agreement for Erasmus+ study abroad programmes, and thus fails to earn the minimum number of ECTS credits, the student will be required to partially reimburse the grant received. Reimbursement shall not be requested when a student has been prevented from completing the minimum requirements due to force majeure, of which the student immediately notified the PU programme coordinator. The reimbursement will be determined as an aliquot of the credits the student did earn in the semester of the study abroad and of the minimum ECTS credits per semester.
• Doctoral programmes have no recommended number of credits.

 Special needs support

The same applies as in the case of classic Erasmus+ - click HERE.

Before mobility

• The student needs to have been duly selected and received the Letter of Admission from the hosting HE institution.
• Every student needs to register their mobility in the online application at: www.mobility.upol.cz. Not valid for Faculty of Arts students, those must register their mobility via STAG.

Furthermore, the student needs to complete the following forms (Students of the Faculty of Arts must complete points 2, 4, 5):

1. Application for student mobility
2. Acceptance Letter from the host institution
3. Learning Agreement
4. Account Declaration
5. Grant Agreement

• At the signing of the Grant Agreement, the student receives the Erasmus+ Student Charter, General Conditions and information about the Travel Insurance.

During Mobility

• Should the Learning Agreement be amended, the student completes the During Mobility form, has it approved by the receiving institution, home faculty/department (centre) coordinator, and submits a copy to the UP IRO. Any amendments must be approved within 30 days from the start of the mobility and/or from the first day of teaching.
• The student immediately notifies the UP IRO of all changes (reducing or prolonging the mobility duration) and any problems with the implementation of the Learning Agreement.

Prolongation of Mobility

A student mobility period may be prolonged (only within one academic year) subject to the internal guidelines of the sending institution and to the following:

a)      the receiving and sending institutions have issued a written approval of the mobilityprolongation;
b)      the Grant Agreement entered into between the student and the sending institution is amended before the end of the original student mobility;
c)      the additional period must follow immediately after the original mobility period;
d)      the maximum duration of the mobility, i.e. 12 months per study cycle, is not exceeded;

After mobility

After returning from mobility, the student is required to do as follows:

• Complete the Final Report in the form of an online questionnaire in the European database Mobility Tool+. After the mobility, the student receives an email requesting him/her to complete the report. Erasmus+ grants are conditioned by the submission of a final report.
• Submit the original of Confirmation of Erasmus Study Period, issued and approved by the receiving organisation and bearing the name of the participant and the start and end dates of the mobility. In case the receiving organization does not offer such document, use the form available in the Documents section.
• Submit the Transcript of Records, issued and approved by the receiving organisation and bearing the name of the participant and his/her learning outcomes. Students of doctoral study programmes submit the Confirmation of the Trainer describing the study activities during the mobility. Submit the Confirmation to the UP IRO within 1 month from the end of the mobility.
• Students must return the travel insurance card to the UP IRO.
• Ensure the recognition of the courses studied abroad at the faculty/department. The recognition of an approved study plan is a prerequisite of the Erasmus+ programme; students request the recognition even if they have enough credits to graduate from the UP! Following the recognition of the courses taken, the student submits the STAG Transcript of Records to the UP IRO. The exact name of the document is The Sending Institution‘s Transcript of records.

UP contact person

• Petra Soldánová – coordinator for staff mobility

COVID-19 recommendations

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, Erasmus + mobility can be planned and implemented in the following three types: physical (entitlement to payment / drawing of a grant in the form of unit contributions), combined (entitlement to a grant arises only for the physical part of the mobility) and virtual ( there is no entitlement to payment of the grant). Approval of mobility is in the competence of the department, which is the solver of the sub-project, and ZO RUP. The procedure is according to the UP risk management plan, evaluation of the current situation and the possibilities of the receiving / partner institution. These intentions are superseded by a possible decision of the Government of the Czech Republic on travel conditions for university students and staff, or decisions of foreign authorities.
• In the event of force majeure, it will not be possible to accept affidavits and similar informal confirmations. In order to claim the costs incurred due to force majeure, all relevant supporting documents must be kept from the start of the preparations for mobility. These documents must be verifiable and verifiable.
• The mobility participant will have to document and demonstrate that all possible measures have been taken by him to minimize financial losses.
• As part of the cost-effectiveness of the use of Erasmus+ grant funds, it is necessary to ensure the minimization of potential losses with regard to the risk that can be expected, eg:
  • suitable insurance when buying tickets (possibility of cancellation);
  • purchase of a flexible ticket with the possibility of changing the date;
  • Acquisition of accommodation in the form of "payment on site", not in advance, or the use of the possibility of cancellation without financial losses.
• The COVID-19 test can only be claimed under the Erasmus + program if the obligation to take the test occurs suddenly. In this case, it is necessary to prove with an official document that this obligation has occurred, clearly state the reason for it and document the invoice / receipt. It will not be possible to claim payment for the test without documenting all the requisites. If the mobility participant is aware of the obligation to test for COVID-19 before leaving for mobility, its payment cannot be claimed.

Qualification requirements

• Outbound staff must be a UP employee. A teacher applying for a teaching assignment abroad must be employed by UP as an academic based on an employment contract. The FTE is irrelevant.
• Staff interested in a teaching mobility or a training event should participate in a competitive selection at the sending department/faculty. While the selection criteria fall fully within the competence of the department/faculty, they must be transparent and fair.
• The sending department/faculty is responsible for following the qualification conditions and the selection procedure. 

 Scope and format of teaching

• During the teaching mobility, the teacher must give instruction in the agreed field in the form of lectures, seminars, practical training and possibly also student consultation. The instruction should form part of the study programme of the receiving institution.
• The minimum teaching hours are 8 hours per week, and (8hrs/5) x extra number of days in the case of longer programmes.

Mobility Agreement

• Prior to a mobility activity, the Mobility Agreement for Teaching needs to be prepared and confirmed.
• The form must be complete and approved by the following three parties:
  • mobility participant - signature of the UP employee going on a teaching or training mobility
  • sending institution - signature of the Erasmus+ coordinator at the department or faculty.
  • receiving institution - signature of the coordinator abroad
• Complete the Mobility Agreement in English or the language of the receiving institution.

• No format is prescribed, as the training may involve teaching/training assignments at a partner organisation, job shadowing, a course etc. The condition is to acquire new competence and skills applicable at home organisation. Participation is not considered a training activity.
• The scope of training should match the approved training programme and be sufficient to achieve the training goals.
• Staff submit a completed and signed Mobility Agreement for Training to the UP IRO no later than 2 weeks before the planned departure.

 Grant Agreement

• Prior to departure, the employee must sign the Grant Agreement, which specifies the conditions of the mobility activity, particularly the travel dates, teaching hours, and maximum travel costs, at the UP IRO.
• Any amendments in the mobility details, made after the Grant Agreement has been signed, must be immediately communicated to the UP IRO.

 Travel Abroad Request

• Information coming soon ...

 Financial aid

• Information coming soon ...

 During mobility

• During the assignment at the receiving institution, the staff implement the teaching or training plan as it is approved in the Mobility Agreement.
• The planned number of hours of teaching or training needs to be observed.

 Confirmation of Teaching/Training Assignment and Final Report

• At the end of the mobility event, the hosting party issues the Confirmation of Erasmus+ Teaching/Training Assignment, the original copy of which the employee submits to the UP IRO.
• The Confirmation of Teaching Assignment must indicate the number of days and hours of teaching. The number of hours taught/worked, confirmed by the hosting party, must match the number of days taught/hours worked set out in the Mobility Agreement; or it can be higher. A lower confirmed number of days/hours leads to reduction in the originally awarded grant. The minimum required number of hours taught is 8, and of days worked is 5.
• The employee is likewise obliged to complete the Final Report in the form of an online questionnaire. After the teaching/training mobility, the employee will be invited to complete the online questionnaire in an email sent to the address indicated in the Grant Agreement.

 Accounting of expenses

• The Travel Request is settled at the department/faculty of the employee. The employee hands over all the documents concerning accommodation, travel and others to the relevant officer and follows the officer’s instructions.