Erasmus+ short-term exchanges

The Erasmus+ programme also enables mobility grants for short-term exchanges (blended intensive programmes, BIP) and for blended short-term traineeship mobilities. Blended intensive programmes, or BIP courses, are individual courses organized by UEF’s Erasmus partner universities, which students can apply for and participate in during the academic year. A student can apply for a grant through UEF, but applying for a course is a separate, course-specific process. More information on blended short-term traineeship mobility, please visit Erasmus+ traineeship pages.

The application for Erasmus+ short-term exchanges is continuous, which means that the student can start the application process as soon as a suitable course is found. The application must be made in good time, about 1 month before the start of the physical mobility part of the exchange period. The application is open annually from 1 June to 31 May. There is separate application period for short-term exchanges. If applied for the short-term traineeship mobility, application for Erasmus+ traineeship grant should be filled.

Requirements for short-term exchange and BIP courses

In Erasmus+ short-term exchanges, all of the following criteria must be met in order for a grant to be awarded for the course:

• The university organizing the course must be UEF’s Erasmus+ partner university. A list of UEF’s partner universities can be found here (the word file opens in a new tab).
• The course includes both virtual and physical mobility. This means that the course must have online learning before or after the physical exchange period. NOTE! The requirement of virtual studies does not apply to PhD students.
• The physical mobility period is 5–30 days.
• The minimum credits (virtual and physical period combined) must be 3 ECTS.
• Tuition must be free of charge at the blended intensive course. In addition, there can be no fees regarding teaching, enrollment, examinations, or laboratory or library use. There can be fees from, for example, a voluntary social program.
• Students can generally apply for a short-term exchange grant only once during their degree level (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral). However, the grant can be awarded for several short-term exchanges if there is enough Erasmus+ funding available. If you are an undergraduate student and belong to a group with fewer opportunities to participate in exchanges or if you work alongside your studies, you can apply for a short-term exchange grant multiple times during your degree level without restrictions.

Applying for an Erasmus+ short-term exchange grant

Students can search for suitable courses on their own, for example, on the websites of UEF’s Erasmus partner universities. BIP courses that come to the attention of UEF’s International Mobility Services are announced in the Viva Engage group Kansainvälistymismahdollisuuksia opiskelijoille // Internationalization offers for students (requires UEF registration). BIP courses informed by our partners are also listed in the table below on this page. When a suitable course that meets all the criteria mentioned above is found, the student can start the application process. If the host university requires a nomination for the course, the student must notify UEF’s International Mobility Services in time to submit the student’s nomination. The student must submit an application to the host university in accordance with the guidelines and schedules determined by the host. The UEF application is made in the SoleMOVE system.

Students who are employed by UEF cannot apply for an Erasmus+ short-term exchange grant. If you are employed (e.g. employment contract of a junior researcher), you can apply for Erasmus+ staff exchange support (requires UEF registration) for a short exchange.

Doctoral students not employed by the UEF can receive the grant for short-term mobility based on their supervisor’s recommendation, therefore the recommendation letter should be attached in the SoleMOVE application.

The application process in a nutshell

1. Read the entire call for applications in detail.
2. Search for a blended intensive course that is suitable for you. Some options are listed in the Viva Engage group Kansainvälistymismahdollisuuksia opiskelijoille // Internationalisation offers for students.
3. When you find a suitable course, make sure that the compulsory criteria are met (above).
4. Consult your departmental mobility coordinator and programme coordinator before you apply for the mobility grant.
5. Apply to the host university according to their instructions and schedules.
6. Submit the application to UEF in the SoleMOVE system.

Funding

The grant is paid for the physical mobility period of the course (5–30 days). The grant is 79 €/day for days 1–14 and 56 €/day for days 15–30. In addition, students will receive travel support for their mobility and are entitled to two grant-funded travel days. Students who have fewer opportunities on participating in the exchange (e.g. students with family, family carers, students with health problems, disabled students, migrant background) or who have special needs due to physical or mental health can apply for additional support for the exchange.

In Erasmus+ programme, student can also apply for green travel support, if most of the travelled journeys to host country and back home or at least one direction of journey is travelled with low emissions (bus, train, carpooling) – ferry/ship is not considered as a form of green travel. When traveling green, the student is entitled to increased travel support and up to six grant-funded travel days.

More detailed information on additional support and the amount of travel support can be found from the section Funding your studies abroad.

12 months per degree level

Students may complete more than one Erasmus+ student exchange or traineeship during their studies. However, the total maximum duration is 12 months per degree level (Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate). Once the 12-month limit at a certain degree level is reached, the student can no longer participate in an Erasmus+ mobility period at that degree level. It should also be noted that the student must have enough months available when leaving on an Erasmus+ mobility period, meaning that the 12-month limit cannot be exceeded during the mobility period. The 12-month limit also includes the months that the student has used in previous studies at the same degree level and the time as a recipient of the Erasmus Mundus scholarship.

Digital Learning Agreement

All students need to make a digital study plan, Digital Learning Agreement (DLA), for the short-term exchange period before their study exchange period begins. Digital Learning Agreement can also be called as an Online Learning Agreement (OLA). Digital Learning Agreements are created in the SoleMOVE system.

BIP courses informed by our partners

Blended intensive programmes informed by our partners are listed in the table below, and more details about the course can be found via the link.

UEF guidelines on using Erasmus+ support for short-term mobility

Starting from 1 August 2024, the following guidelines will be considered regarding the use of Erasmus+ funding for short-term exchanges:

The following groups are prioritised when awarding grants:

• Bachelor and Master’s degree students (special groups) who have fewer opportunities to engage in long-term student mobility (e.g. students with families, working students etc.)
• Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) courses where UEF is one of the organising universities

In addition:

• Doctoral students not employed by the university can receive the grant for short-term mobility based on their supervisor’s recommendation
• Short-term mobility funding can be granted once per degree level (including doctoral students) but excluding special groups (see above).