Freemovers
The Freemovers programme is for students who as part of their studies at Masaryk University want to complete a month to four months foreign placement in their filed and do not have the chance to utilise other funding (for example the Erasmus+ programme, from the faculty, etc.). As a Freemover you can go on a placement to any country in the world.
You can find out about the students who went on placements as Freemovers can be found here (only in Czech).
Participation Conditions
The Freemovers traineeship is open to a student who:
- is enrolled on an accredited bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral study programme at MU – full-time, combined or distance forms of studies
- must have completed at least the first semester of bachelor’s studies at the time of submitting the application
- throughout the period of their placement is enrolled in studies at the faculty/department through which the placement was organised, and the studies may not be ended or interrupted
- is not travelling to their Country of Origin or Country of Residence
Traineeship conditions:
- the scholarship is awarded for a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of 1 semester
- the study program at MU must be compatible with the programme of the traineeship at a foreign institution, i.e. the faculty will confirm that the completed traineeship will be recognized as part of the student's study plan at MU
- unlike the Erasmus+ programme, this programme is not intended for financing graduate traineeships
- this programme requires MU students to submit an application for recognition of courses/credits from their stay abroad after the end of the stay (more information can be found here)
- the student must submit all required documents before the start of the stay and after its completion; failure to submit them is considered a failure to meet the conditions for awarding the scholarship and the scholarship must be returned
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Financial Conditions
- the grant is only allocated to physical mobility in a foreign country, not to online mobility
- the monthly scholarship rate can be up to 16,000 CZK
- account shall be taken of the financial cost of the placement, any material or financial support provided by the receiving institution or by a third party, such as free accommodation or food, other scholarships, etc.; any other support provided or requested for the placement shall be indicated by the student in the application form; if they receive it later, it is necessary to inform the CZS programme coordinator immediately via email
- in justified cases, it is not excluded to gain a grant from the scholarship fund of the faculty, region, foundations, etc. to make up part of the costs – if the student has gained another grant, has applied for one or if there is any financial support mentioned in the Learning Agreement for Traineeship by the foreign organisation, they should give information in the application on its amount, attach a summary of anticipated costs and a justification of the request for a further grant
- it is not possible to have another grant for the same placement from EU sources (e.g. Erasmus+) and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
- we would like to point out to students who are also MU employees that it is not possible to receive full travel reimbursement from the employer for the aforementioned traineeship abroad (always after an individual assessment by the CZS)
- the scholarship is paid in CZK accounts in crowns held at any bank in the Czech Republic, which the student has entered in the IS MU (Scholarships section)
- the grant serves for only partial coverage of costs, being only a contribution to the increased costs linked to a placement abroad – the financial contribution of the student is assumed
- the specific amount of the grant is set according to the specific amount of time spent at the foreign institution and depending on the possibilities of the project budget.; if you are not going for a period of complete months, the level of the grant for the last incomplete month is calculated as follows:
- 1 to 7 days: zero financial support
- 8 to 20 days: 1/2 financial support for a month
- 21 to 30 days: full financial support for a month
- the student is responsible for arranging accommodation, insurance, visa, etc.
- the scholarship may be paid only in the calendar year in which the mobility takes place
- students departing for the autumn semester may be awarded the scholarship for January only at the end of January or later (i.e. after approval of funds) if they do not terminate or interrupt their studies at MU in the meantime; there is no automatic entitlement to this scholarship
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List of Deadlines
Calendar year 2025: Application deadline: 15 February 2025, or until funds are exhausted (application opens 1 January 2025)
Calendar year 2026: Application deadline: 15 December 2025 (application opens 15 October 2025) – funding for calendar year 2026 is still to be decided
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Application
Application to foreign institution:
Those interested must first contact their preferred foreign institution, agree on the conditions for acceptance and get a signed Learning Agreement for Traineeship.
Application at the CZS:
- the application is submitted electronically
- the application form does not have to be completed in English; for names, addresses, etc. use diacritical marks where needed; in the year column give the actual year of study at MU.
Compulsory parts of the CZS application:
- a Learning Agreement for Traineeship signed by all three parties – filled in online in ISOIS, exceptionally upload a completed document (you can find the form in the section Documents)
- a detailed work plan signed by the student, approved and signed by the placement guarantor at MU (guarantor of the student traineeship) and the responsible representative of the host institution abroad
- the Learning Agreement for Traineeship must give the number of credits the student will be awarded for the placement; the credits are awarded by the home faculty on the basis of the length of the placement
- a motivational letter (in Czech/Slovak or English, max 1 A4) – has to contain:
- addressee CZS, signed by the student
- request for financial support from the Freemovers 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 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
Criteria for the selection of candidates:
- meeting the conditions for a traineeship
- a correctly filled out Learning Agreement for Traineeship
- traineeship at a top university according to the QS World University Rankings (up to TOP 300)
- a motivation letter meeting the above criteria
- the year of study of the student – priority is given to students of master's and bachelor's programmes
- study records
- previous placements abroad in programmes administered by CZS – priority is given to students who are going for a placement abroad for the first time
- the formal aspects of the application form
- impossibility of using another programme (e.g. Erasmus+ programme, faculty scholarships, DZS offers, etc.)
The final results of the selection process will be announced to applicants by email within one month 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
Before departure, the student needs to:
- record the traineeship in IS (section Internships and stays) – as the “programme” select “Freemover” and upload the Learning Agreement for Traineeship
- secure health insurance – for the entire period of stay abroad, including return travel and repatriation insurance
- the student can secure insurance through ISIC or through commercial insurance companies (UNIQA, Allianz, etc.)
- apply for a grant – one to two months before starting your traineeship; for the physical transfer of the grant onto the account, it is necessary to submit an electronic application for a grant, the specific link in IS will be provided to you by the CZS coordinator if you accepted into the programme
- in the request, give the precise anticipated start and end dates of traineeship abroad (not the stay) in the Freemovers programme; follow the academic calendar of the target school and the information in the letter of acceptance
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After Return
- after completing the stay abroad, the student must submit an application for recognition of courses/credits from the stay abroad via the Internships and Stays in the IS
- the recognition of subjects/credits is fully in the competence of individual faculties/departments/institutes (further information can be found here)
- upload the Traineeship Certificate to the placement recognition in the IS – a confirmation of the real length of the traineeship signed by the foreign organization and an authorized person from the relevant MU faculty no later than 10 days after the end of the traineeship
- note: Failure to comply with the programme conditions, especially failure to submit final documents, will result in the student losing their right to the grant for mobility support
- within 6 weeks of completing the traineeship, the student must fill in the final report from the placement, which will help future participants of the programme; the report is completed online in the ISOIS application (select Final Reports in the Programme section)
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