Erasmus+

Participation Conditions

To be able to participate in an Erasmus+ traineeship, a student:

• has to be enrolled in an accredited Bachelor's, Master's or Doctoral study programme at Masaryk University – full-time, combined or even distance form of studies
• has to be a citizen of any programme country or a citizen of another country but studies a programme country in an accredited study programme in any academic year
• has to be duly registered in a study programme at the sending institution during the traineeship (this does not concern recent graduates). The student can neither interrupt nor terminate their studies at the sending institution before completing the traineeship
• has to be chosen in an officially announced selection procedure
• has to meet the Qualification criteria for the Erasmus+ Traineeships (see the section Documents)
• who wishes the traineeship to take place in their Country of Origin receives the lowest priority during the selection procedure and is given the status of a zero-grant student, i.e. is not entitled to receive financial support
• cannot take the traineeship in their Country of Residence
• cannot study in the Czech Republic through the Erasmus+ / Erasmus Mundus / Erasmus+ ICM programme

Traineeship conditions:

• each student might participate in a traineeship for a maximum period of 12 months in each study cycle (be careful with the long-cycle Master's programmes, see more information in Qualification Criteria, see the section Documents), previous mobilities (study and work stays) in the study cycle count towards this period
  • Despite the possibility of repeated Erasmus+ traineeships, their repetition may be taken into account on the basis of preferences in the selection procedure due to limited financial support allotted by the European Commission.
• the duration of the traineeship is a minimum of 2 months and a maximum of 12 months
  • Since the academic year 2020/2021, it is also possible to carry out an online mobility or a blended mobility (a combination of online and physical mobility). Such mobilities will be recognized into the individual studies. The physical part of the blended mobility must fulfil the requirement of a minimal length as set by the Erasmus+ programme rules (2 months). The length of the physical mobility could be shortened or replaced in full by online mobility only in duly justified cases of force majeure.
  • The duration of the online mobility is not financially supported within the Erasmus+ programme.
• the condition of a traineeship is not the signing of an inter-institutional agreement, but the traineeship has to be arranged and confirmed in advance
• the traineeship must be approved by the department of the field of study that supervises the student's traineeship (by placement guarantor) before the application is submitted and subsequently be recognized – the student has to achieve ECTS credits for the traineeship which have to be noted in the diploma supplement (the traineeship becomes a part of the given study programme; this does not apply for the graduate traineeships)
  • MU students are obliged to apply for recognition of courses/credits from their stay abroad. More information can be found here.
• the traineeship should take place in any public organization or private enterprise active on the labour market or in the sphere of education (private or public enterprise on local, regional, or national level; professional association; trade union; research institutes; non-financial organizations; educational centres, etc.)
  • ATTENTION, it must be verified that the organization is not funded by EU project money, but only by the country's financial resources
  • unauthorized organizations where a traineeship cannot be entered into:
  • an EU institution and other EU authorities, including specialized agencies
  • an organization administering EU programmes (due to prevention of conflict of interests and/or double financing, such as national agencies)
• the student has to work full-time in the host institution (common in the host country, 35 hours a week minimum)
• the main purpose of Erasmus+ traineeships is preparation for future employment. It is not possible to collect data to write a thesis, consult the thesis with experts, write academic papers or work on own research project as part of the traineeship. A student can carry out a traineeship in a research laboratory, participate in research for the host institution and thus learn new methods and procedures. If you are interested in a research traineeship, you can contact the International Relations Office of your faculty. 

Graduate traineeship:

• the traineeship can take place within 12 months after graduation, the traineeship must be started and completed within this period
• the student must be an active MU student during the entire selection procedure (until the results of the selection procedure are announced)
• for the entire duration of the graduate traineeship, the student cannot enrol on further studies within the field of study through which the graduate work is carried out
• whoever has an interest in a graduate traineeship must determine what manner it will be registered in the country of origin with regard to health insurance a social security

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Financial Conditions

On the basis of signing a Grant Agreement, the student receives financial support from the Erasmus+ programme resources. The financial support is determined on the basis of the planned duration of the traineeship, where 1 month = 30 days. The flat monthly grant is determined on a national level and is the same for students of all higher education institutions.

Financial support will be sent:

• in CZK to a bank account held in Czech Crowns in any bank in the Czech Republic; the allocated amount of the grant will be transferred according to the monthly exchange rate of the European Commission and sent to the student's account in CZK, or
• in EUR to a bank account held in Euros at any bank within the European Union

The grant will be transferred to the student's bank account entered in the IS MU (does not concern recent graduates) according to the agreed instalments.

The financial support serves only for partial coverage of expenses, as it is a grant aimed at supporting increased expenses connected with the traineeship – the financial participation of the student is expected.

The duration of the traineeship is a minimum of 2 months. If the duration of the traineeship is not kept to whole months, the financial support for the last month is granted according to the number of days of the last month.

Differentiation of grants for Erasmus+ traineeships:

• €750/month – countries with a high cost of living:
  • Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Lichtenstein, Luxemburg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
• €630/month – countries with a low cost of living:
  • Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey

The duration of the online mobility is not financially supported within the Erasmus+ programme. Financial support is given in cases of physical mobility abroad.

As of I. cycle 2023 selection, the following applies: 

• Within the academic year, a student can receive financial support for a maximum of one mobility. In case of further stays, the student will have the status of a zero-grant student, i.e. without the entitlement to financial support.
• The maximum length for that student can receive financial support is four months. During the traineeship, a student can request an extension of their stay, and their request will be evaluated based on the current state of the financial budget from the Erasmus+ programme.
• If a student receives financial support from the host institution, the student loses entitlement to the financial support from the Erasmus+ programme.
• Payment of financial support for graduate traineeships will be divided into at least two instalments: the first in the amount of 70 % will be received after signing the participation contract, and the second in the amount of 30 % will be received after uploading the Traineeship Certificate document to the application in ISOIS.

Green Erasmus

A student can apply for Green travel individual support top-up (single contribution) in a total amount of €50. The student is entitled to receive the allowance if they prove the use of environmentally friendly transport to travel to the place of the traineeship (environmentally friendly transport must be the main means of transport for each trip – there and back) and if the distance between the sending and receiving institution is more than 100 km (you can check the distance here).

Environmentally friendly transport is considered to be: bus, train and carpooling (or a combination of these). If the student uses air travel for at least part of the journey, they will lose the right to this one-off allowance. If someone drives the student to the mobility location and returns without them (family, friends), it is not considered a carpool.

The student is obliged to provide all receipts, invoices and other documents confirming the use of green travel and send that to the Erasmus+ coordinator after the end of the mobility, the financial support will be paid after the documents have been checked.

Increasing of financial support for students from disadvantaged socio-economic environments

This does not constitute a social grant!

The student can apply for increased financial support for a student from a disadvantaged socio-economic environment, provided that before their departure, they submit:

• a document that confirms that they are entitled to child benefit and that the family's income for the preceding year, decisive for the awarding of benefits, does not exceed the family subsistence level multiplied by a coefficient of 3.4. The document must include a translation of the confirmation to Czech (this does not apply to a confirmation in Slovak) and the document must be verified in the form of an apostille or superlegalisation. The content and form of the document is to be individually consulted with the coordinator at the CZS.

The student must apply for increased financial support by uploading the aforementioned documents in the ISOIS application form no later than 10 days before the signing of the Grant Agreement and bringing the original documents to the signing of the Grant Agreement.

Financial Support for Students with Specific Needs

Students with specific needs can apply for increased financial support, provided that before their departure, they submit an Application for a Grant for Students with Specific Needs. Along with the application you must submit:

• a medical report
• a copy of the ZTP pass (if you have one)
• Erasmus+ programme documents: the signed Learning Agreement
• letter of acceptance in which the host institution confirms the acceptance of the participant for the mobility where it is stated that they understand the health state of the participant

There are three types of applications:

• variant I: a simple type of application for up to 3 000 EUR for a foreign trip. Money is provided for example for:
  • food (various dietary needs such as for coeliacs and diabetics; it covers the difference in cost between standard diet and these purchases),
  • transport (the difference in price between standard travel and the requested enhanced standard transport of the location of the traineeship and once there during the traineeship),
  • accommodation (the difference in the price of the requested higher standard accommodation as against the normal – e.g. a barrier-free room close to the school),
  • medical care (regular consultations abroad, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, etc.),
  • specially modified study materials, etc.
• variant II: an application for up to 10 000 EUR for a foreign trip. Money is provided for example for an assistant or for an accompanying person;
• variant III: an application for more than 10 000 EUR for a foreign trip.

The amounts shown are preliminary. The true costs are paid, which have to be evidenced on return from the traineeship.

You can find the Application for a Grant for Students with Specific Needs on the DZS website. Applications can be submitted at any time during the year, no later than 2 weeks before signing the Grant Agreement (the student cannot make an appointment to sign the Grant Agreement before receiving the decision). The application must be submitted before departure on a traineeship as it is not possible to submit an Application and then have it approved retrospectively.

The application is handed to the Masaryk University institutional coordinator for the Erasmus+ programme Violeta Osouchová (via application form in ISOIS). We recommend that you first consult the application with the Teiresiás Centre (tothova@teiresias.muni.cz).

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List of Deadlines

DATES 2024:

• 1^st call for applications:
  • Deadline for applications: 31 January 2024 (online application opens on 1 December 2023); applications for the spring semester 2023/2024 and summer traineeships can be submitted by this deadline – the earliest start date for traineeships is 15 March 2024.
• 2^nd call for application:
  • Deadline for applications: 30 April 2024 (online application opens on 1 March 2024); applications for summer traineeships 2024 and traineeships for the autumn semester 2024/2025 can be submitted by this deadline – the earliest start date for traineeships is 1 July 2024.
• 3^rd call for application:
  • Deadline for applications: 31 July 2024 (online application opens on 1 June 2024); applications for the full academic year 2024/2025 can be submitted by this deadline – the earliest start date for traineeships is 15 September 2024.
• 4^th call for application:
  • Deadline for applications: 31 October 2024 (online application opens 1 September 2024); applications for the spring semester 2024/2025 can be submitted by this deadline – the earliest start date for traineeships is 2 January 2025.

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Application

Traineeships are set up by students THEMSELVES. Students may apply for a traineeship in any organization which complies with the regulations for adequate selection (see the section Participation Conditions) or an organization in which our students' traineeship has previously taken place. 

Traineeship offers are published e.g. here:

• Traineeship offers sent to the CZS.

IMPORTANT! The traineeship must always be arranged as full-time employment (35 hours a week at minimum); other arrangements cannot be accepted.

The student must first consult with the placement guarantor at the MU faculty before applying for financial support via the ISOIS application form.

The main purpose of Erasmus+ traineeships is preparation for future employment. It is not possible to collect data to write a thesis, consult the thesis with experts, write academic papers or work on own research project as part of the traineeship. A student can carry out a traineeship in a research laboratory, participate in research for the host institution and thus learn new methods and procedures. If you are interested in a research traineeship, you can contact the International Relations Office of your faculty.

The application is submitted electronically via ISOIS.

Traineeship Application Manual (see the section Documents).

COMPULSORY PARTS OF THE ONLINE APPLICATION:

1) A Learning Agreement for Traineeships signed and approved by the three parties: a detailed work plan signed by the student, approved and signed by the placement guarantor at MU and the responsible representative of the host institution abroad.

The LA for Traineeships must be completed in English and is now part of the online application (do not fill in and do not upload the separate paper document into the application, it will not be accepted). Instructions for completing the Learning Agreement can be found in the document Traineeship Application Manual (see in section Documents).

2) The Motivation Letter has to contain:

• addressee CZS, signed by the student
• request for financial support from the Erasmus+ programme
• the field of study, level and the year in which the applicant is registered
• the reason for the host institution selection
• what the content of the traineeship will be and why
• direct relation to the student's field of study
• benefits of the traineeship for the student – academic benefits, job opportunity benefits
• benefits for Masaryk University
• benefits for the host institution
• the period of the traineeship for which the student is asking for the financial support
• in the case of selection of agencies and public institutions from the student's country of origin, i.e. cultural institution, Czech centres, region/school representation, etc., it is necessary to justify the selection of the institution considering the internationality of the traineeship

The motivation letter is to be written in Czech, Slovak or English. The maximum length of the motivation letter is one A4 page.

All annexes of the application should be processed on a computer.

CRITERIA OF THE SELECTION PROCESS for the financial support:

• meeting the conditions for a traineeship
• a correctly filled out Learning Agreement for Traineeships
• a motivation letter meeting the above criteria
• the year of study of the student
• study records
• previous placements abroad in programmes administered by CZS
• the formal aspects of the application form

The application is assessed by a three-member committee consisting of international programme coordinators from CZS.

The final results of the selection process will be announced to applicants by email within four weeks after the application submission deadline.

IMPORTANT! Submitting your application does not mean that it will automatically be approved and granted financial support – a proper selection process must take place. 

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Before Departure

Insurance

The student is obliged to arrange regular insurance valid for the host country before going on a traineeship abroad. The insurance has to contain the following items:

• insurance for medical expenses
• accident insurance covering the tasks carried out by the trainee and covering at least any damage caused to the trainee at the workplace
• liability insurance which covers damage caused by the participant at the workplace
  • In the case of a paid traineeship, the student must request liability insurance against the employer (host institution).
  • In the case of an unpaid traineeship, the student applies for third-party liability insurance.

The student has to be familiar with all the requirements for health insurance abroad which is taken out for the purpose of carrying out the traineeship and that the insurance is valid for the specific traineeship (primarily accident coverage and damage at the workplace).

The above does not apply to students whose host institution fully covers their insurance.

ONLINE LINGUISTIC SUPPORT 

• helps in recognizing the language competences of the mobility participants
• more information at EU Academy

SIGNING THE GRANT AGREEMENT

The student comes to the CZS to sign a Grant Agreement no sooner than three weeks before the planned departure; it is not possible to sign the Grant Agreement after the beginning of the traineeship.

The student is obliged to come in person – documents sent by post are not accepted. It is necessary to make an appointment to sign the Grant Agreement via the online appointment calendar app in ISOIS system.

Beginning of traineeship = the first day of the student's presence at the host institution as required by the institution (the first day of the traineeship, commonly a working day)

End of traineeship = the last day of the student's presence at the host institution as required by the institution (the last day of the traineeship, commonly a working day)

The length of the traineeship does not include travel time. 

The student must do the following before signing the Grant Agreement: 

• enter their bank account number to which the financial support will be sent into the MU Information System
• enter their account number to which financial support will be sent, together with other required data, into the ISOIS application
• if the student applies for the Grant support for students with special needs, the student cannot make an appointment to sign the Grant Agreement before receiving the decision
• if the student applies for an Increasing of financial support for students from disadvantaged socio-economic environments, it is required to upload the necessary documents no later than 10 days prior to signing the Grant agreement and bring the original documents to the meeting to sign the Grant agreement

IMPORTANT! Without meeting the requirements mentioned above, the Grant Agreement cannot be generated, nor signed.

The CZS coordinator will generate the Grant Agreement and send it together with the Affidavit (Declaration of Honour) and the Application for Financial Support Grant Agreement to the student by email. The student is obliged to read the documents carefully and check the accuracy of the information provided, print and sign all three documents (the date of signature must coincide with the date of the appointment), which they will hand over to the coordinator during the personal meeting at the CZS.

It is important to make a record of your traineeship abroad in the IS before departure.

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While Abroad

All the necessary documents can be downloaded directly from the application form in ISOIS.

1. Sending of Interim Reports

• a report is uploaded to the application in ISOIS once every two months after the beginning of the traineeship (also applies to traineeships with a minimum length of stay)
• a report has to give information about the traineeship's development during the stated period and its correspondence to the approved study plan of the traineeship (content approx. one A4 page)
• The Interim Report form can be found in the ISOIS application

2. Changes in the Learning Agreement for Traineeships

• In the case of some changes (of content or coordinator) in an already approved Learning Agreement for Traineeships, the changes have to be agreed upon by both the sending and receiving institutions. The student has to fill in the section DURING THE MOBILITY in the online application. 

3. Extension of traineeship

• is possible only upon approval from both the home and host institutions
• on the basis of an appeal to the CZS, a student may apply for the grant through the Application for Extension Form, which is available for download in the ISOIS application form.
  • the application for extension has to be uploaded into the ISOIS application at the latest 30 days before the termination of the former period of traineeship stated in the Grant Agreement; late applications will not be accepted
  • the application includes a motivation section which must state the reasons for extending the traineeship
  • the application has to be approved by the responsible person from the host institution and the placement guarantor at MU
• the student is not automatically entitled to funding for the extended traineeship period, it is up to the sending institution to allocate additional financial support for the extended period
  • Extension without financial support (Erasmus zero-grant student): the student does not receive financial support but retains Erasmus+ student status and its benefits
  • Extension with financial support: is possible only in the case of sufficient funding from the Erasmus+ programme, the change in the total amount of financial support must be specified in an addendum to the Grant contract
• in case of approval of the extension, the student has to obtain insurance for the extended period of traineeship and is obliged to submit Exceptional Major Changes to the Original Learning Agreement and have the changes in the Learning Agreement approved (the deadline being a maximum of 10 days from the approval)

4. Reduction of traineeship abroad

• is possible after agreement between a student and the sending institution and is arranged by an amendment to the Grant Agreement and proportional grant reduction
• if the student shortens the stay by more than 5 calendar days, the student is obliged to submit the document Notification of Reduction of Traineeship, which is available for download in the ISOIS application; if the shortening is within 5 calendar days, the student notifies their CZS coordinator, the placement guarantor and the host institution by email
• if the student does not meet the minimum length of the traineeship, i.e., two months, they have to return the whole financial support

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After Return

All the necessary documents can be downloaded directly from the application form in ISOIS.

After arrival from traineeship, the student is obliged to:

• upload Traineeship Certificate (found in the ISOIS application form) to ISOIS application – confirmation of the traineeship length from the host institution and placement guarantor – within 10 days after finishing the traineeship abroad
• fill in the EU Survey in the form of an online query; access data will be delivered to the student's email address after the mobility ends. The student is obliged to fill in the Final Report within 30 days from receiving the access data
  • The European Commission's platform for uploading final reports is currently not fully functional. We, therefore, ask for your patience.
• recognize the traineeship (does not concert recent graduates) – credit recognition for the traineeship lies within an individual faculty/department/institute/guarantor's authority; you can get more details and information about the credit recognition process at the international/study department of your faculty (the rules for the recognition of traineeships can be found here)

Traineeship document – Europass Mobility

• The student can request a mobility certificate within the Europass portal, which can be useful for graduate traineeships where the student will not have mobility recorded in the Diploma Supplement. There is no need to contact the CZS anymore, but the student can download the required confirmation directly on the Europass portal website and ask the host institution to fill it in.

Erasmus student's report database

• After the mobility, the student can share their experience in the Erasmus student's reports database, which brings together the final reports of students from all universities in the Czech Republic. In this case, the student will contact their CZS coordinator for a call to fill in the record.

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Useful Links

• Placement Offers
  • www.erasmusintern.org
• Erasmus students’ experience
  • the national database of final reports from Erasmus work placements from 2009/2010
• Others
  • The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
  • International Student Club (ISC)
  • Erasmus Student Network (ESN) 
  • European Commission, programme Erasmus+ 
  • Study.eu: Doing an Internship Abroad: All you need to know

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