What is Erasmus+?

In the current generation of the programme (2021-2027), Erasmus+ aims to support the objectives of the European education agendas to foster the modernisation, internationalisation and quality improvement of higher education in Europe, to strengthen students' international competences, personal development and employability, to enhance the attractiveness of the EU as a place to study and research, and to contribute to the sustainable development of higher education in third countries.

After all, the programme should also help to build more cross-educational bridges and intensify cooperation between the different education sectors. (erasmusplus.de)

Students in all study cycles who would like to complete a part of their studies or an internship abroad are eligible for funding. Students can be funded for up to 12 months in each of the Bachelor's, Master's and doctoral programmes. Internships abroad are also possible after graduation.

The program offers students and recent graduates at the European University Viadrina:

• secure work covered by an EU contract of employment between the university, the company and the student
• support in finding and planning an internship abroad
• financial support for the additional costs of being abroad
• a certificate (diploma supplement) showing that you carried out an internship or academic recognition of the internship
• foreign language lessons in the relevant language
• extra support for disabled students
• extra support for students with children

The EU Commission Erasmus+ website and information regarding Erasmus+ trainings for students.

The funding is awarded by the national agencies in the program countries. In Germany this task is carried out by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). He provides further information and advice on the Erasmus + mobility measures:

Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienst
Nationale Agentur für EU-Hochschulzusammenarbeit
Kennedyallee 50
53115 Bonn
Tel.: +49(0)228/882-8877
Fax: +49(0)228/882-555
E-Mail: erasmus@daad.de
Homepage: www.eu.daad.de

Requirements for applicants

• You are enrolled at the Viadrina as a regular studend (not exchange student)
• Graduates can also receive funding: There are special conditions for the funding of graduates
• You have not “used up” your Erasmus Budget of 12 months in your current degree program
• You have found an internship which fulfils the conditions mentioned below
• You can demonstrate that you have good language skills in the relevant language
• You may not carry out the internship in the country in which you are resident. International students who want to do an Erasmus+ internship in their home country must be registered as residents in Germany at the time the Grant Agreement is signed.

Requirements for the internship

• The internship must be completed in one of the following Erasmus countries: the 27 EU member states (except Germany) and their overseas territories, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Northern Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey.
  Switzerland and the United Kingdom do not participate in Erasmus+, funding is available through the Promos programme.

• Duration of the internship

Long term Mobility: The internship  must last at least 60 days (the 31st of a month does not count). We support a maximum of 180 days in the current project.
The internship can optionally be combined with a virtual phase (blended mobiliyt). Example: You first work in the home office in Germany for one month and then go to the host country for two months and continue the internship you have already started there. You will only receive funding for the days abroad.

Short Term Mobility: If you are unable to go abroad for at least 60 days for personal, family, health or study-related reasons, you can combine a shorter stay in the host country (5-30 days) with a virtual component (blended short term mobility). The virtual period is mandatory in this case. You will receive the funding only for the days abroad. It amounts to 70 EUR/day until the 14th day and 50 EUR/day from the 15th to the 30th day. PhD students can also do a shortened internship abroad (5-30 days) without a virtual phase.

• The internship (long term and short term) must be full time (at least 30 hours/week) and is the main purpose of the stay abroad.

• The internship is study-related and can be integrated into the study program (does not apply to graduate and doctoral students). Ideally, it is provided for in the study regulations (mandatory or optional). However, voluntary study-related internships can also be funded. Please consider the duration of the internship according to the study and examination regulations.

Criteria for non-recognition

The internship cannot be supported if

• You do not live in the host state during the internship

• You receive other EU support – more than one form of EU support is not permitted
• The internship is provided by an EU institution, any other EU body including special agencies (see list), a body which administers EU programmes (e.g. EU volunteer services)
• Support for internships which have already begun cannot be backdated

The financial support for an Erasmus+ internship (SMP), current project 2022/2023

 We are currently operating the Erasmus+ project 2022. The funding rates and rules set for this project apply. For the calculation of the funding amount, the first and the last day in the company are relevant, whereby the 31st of a month does not count. Internship salaries are not taken into account when calculating the funding amount. The grant amount is based on the cost of living in the destination country. Please inform yourself about the cost of living in the host country before your internship abroad.

In this project we fund a maximum of 180 days.

To-Ups

Green travel:
For low-emission travel by train, bus, carpool, bicycle, etc., you can receive a fixed allowance of 50 EUR, as well as claim up to 4 additional travel days (see explanation green travel under application documents).

Participants with fewer opportunities/ Social To-Ups
The following students can receive a Social Top-Up of 250,00 EUR per month:

• Students with a disability or chronic illness
  from GdB 20% or a chronic illness (this can be physical as well as chronic mental illness) with additional financial needs abroad.

• Students with child(ren)
  At least one child is taken along during the entire stay abroad. Top Up amount regardless of the number of children.

• First-time academics
  Both parents or caregivers do not hold an academic degree from a university or university of applied sciences (this also includes comparable degrees from universities of cooperative education and foreign degrees that are not recognised in Germany, see the Higher Education Compass internet portal and the website of the Accreditation Council Foundation).

• Employed students
  The employment must have been continuously pursued for at least 6 months with temporal reference to the mobility and is not continued during the internship abroad (termination is not a prerequisite, the employment contract can also be paused). The employment period must be within a time window of 6 months before the start of the mobility. During the minimum period of employment (6 months), monthly earnings must be above 450 EUR and below 850 EUR (net earnings of all activities per month added up). As a rule, activities carried out on a self-employed basis and dual/part-time study programmes with a fixed salary are excluded.

You can submit your application for Erasmus+ support for your internship at any time – but at least 4 weeks before your internship starts – to the Career Center personally or via e-mail. Late applications cannot always be accepted.

The following documents are required:

• a completed and signed application form (for graduate internships, you may omit the internship site information for now)

• a letter explaning your motivation for the internship (1 to max. 2 A4 pages in German or English)
• a CV (in German or English) with photo
• a confirmation of the internship institution, e.g. contract, e-mail etc. (can be submitted later in the case of graduate internships)
• Declaration of honour on low-emission "green" travel to and from the internship, if relevant (if not submitted, we assume you are traveling by air).
• Declaration of honour for Social Top-Ups (see info under funding rates), if relevant. (if not submitted, we will assume you are not eligible).
• a transcript of grades: printout from the HIS portal. Master’s students can provide a copy of their previous degree
• If available, proof of knowledge of the working language (excerpt from your study book for language courses from the pages of the Language Center; if applicable, further certificates)
• your current confirmatio of enrollment
• for international students who are carrying out the internship in their home countries: proof of main residence in Germany during your studies

If you have any questions about the application documents, please feel free to contact us. Incomplete applications will also be processed.

What happens after I apply?

If your application corresponds with the conditions for funding, you will receive your approval from us by e-mail together with the Erasmus+ required documents and other relevant information.

If your planned internship abroad conforms with the Erasmus+ support criteria, you will receive the following documents by e-mail:

The Grant Agreement regulates the financial support for the internship together with your rights and duties. The support is paid in 2 instalments: 80% before the internship begins and after receipt of all documents and 20% after all proof and reports have been provided after the completion of the internship.

The Learning Agreement for Traineeships is a contract signed by you, the internship provider and the person responsible for internships at our university. The organisational and content-related aspects of the internship and the later recognition by the university are specified therein

Both documents have to be signed and submitted before your internship starts.

You will also receive the Erasmus+ Students Charter which details the rights and duties of students participating in Erasmus+.

The Online Language Support (OLS) in the Erasmus+ program is available via the EU Academy platform for students going abroad.

You can voluntarily take OLS language tests and courses online in preparation before, during and after your stay abroad. Test your knowledge and visit courses in as many languages as you wish! Currently the OLS platform is available in the most used languages: EN, FR, DE, ES, IT. This will be expanded successively!

You can get started directly via the following link.
If you have any questions or technical difficulties, please contact the Help-Center of the European Commission.

It is very much essential that you make sure that you have sufficient insurance coverage before you start your internship.

International Health Insurance

The conclusion of an additional international health insurance is strongly recommended! Although your national health insurance with the European Health Insurance Card generally also protects you when you go to another EU country, you are only covered to the extent of a statutory health insurance in the respective host country. In many cases, however, the level of care and cost coverage in the destination country is lower than the German standard. Furthermore you will have to cover the costs of treatment yourself first and can have these costs reimbursed to a certain extent by your national health insurance. This means that coverage by the European Health Insurance Card or private health insurance may not be sufficient, especially if repatriation or special medical treatment is necessary. Please seek advice from your health insurance company and take out a supplementary international health insurance, which will also cover pandemic situations and necessary repatriation.

Students who do a voluntary paid internship abroad generally have to take out statutory health insurance in the host country. Here, the European rule of compulsory contributions in the host country comes into force.

Accident and liability insurance

All Erasmus+ trainees are required to prove that they are insured against accidents and damage (accident and liability insurance) during their free time and at work.

You have the option of taking out private insurance or using the German Academic Exchange Service Group Insurance . This offers a combined health, accident and liability insurance policy for interns (rate 720) and graduate students on internships abroad (rate 726A). The DAAD Insurance Office will be happy to answer your questions. Proof of insurance cover must be provided in the Grant Agreement.

After your Erasmus+ internship you are required to submit the following proof and reports:

• An internship certificate or the EU Commission’s Traineeship Certificate confirming the internship and its duration
• A short report on your internship or the completed Career Center Online Form concerning recognition of a compulsory internship
• The completed Participant Report of the EU Commission (online questionnaire which you get form the EU)

You will receive comprehensive information and the necessary forms by e-mail before your internship ends. Please send us the required documents within 6 weeks of the completion of your internship. We can only pay the second installment of the financial support on receipt of the required proof stated above.

The Career Center assists you during your internship abroad. You can contact us at any time if you have questions or difficulties or if you are unhappy with your internship.

Extension of the Erasmus+ internship abroad

You can apply by e-mail for an extension of your Erasmus+ internship up to one month before the end of your internship. The financial support will be paid corresponding to the new period of time but for no longer than 180 days.

Early cancellation of your internship

Please contact us if you want to shorten your internship or plan to cancel it. We will calculate the new amount of financial support and, if necessary, request you to repay the amount overpaid.

If you have not completed the minimum period of 60 days due to personal or family reasons you have to repay all of the financial support received up to that point. This does not apply if you have a certificate from your doctor, in cases of force majeure, or if the German Foreign Office recommends you to leave the country urgently.

Additional funds for students with disabilities

Students, graduates and doctoral candidates with a degree of disability of at least 20 or a chronic illness that leads to additional financial needs abroad receive an additional top-up of EUR 250 per month as part of the Erasmus+ funding.

Additional funds for students with children

Students and graduates who take their child(ren) with them throughout the mobility receive a monthly top-up of 250 EUR. Couples can be funded, but there must be no double funding of the child. The amount of the top-up is independent of the number of children.

Real cost subsidy

In addition, students and graduates with a disability (GdB 20 or more) or chronic illness (with additional financial needs)
illness (with additional financial needs abroad) and students/ graduates/ doctoral students who complete their internship abroad with child(ren) have the opportunity to submit an application for a real cost subsidy for the additional costs incurred abroad. Persons in this target group (fewer opportunities) also receive travel expenses for certain mobility formats or have the possibility to apply for a preparatory trip in advance. Please contact us!