Erasmus+ international exchange programme with non-associated countries

Erasmus+ KA171 offers opportunities for students to carry on their academic training and for University personnel to perform teaching duties or train in higher education institutions outside of Europe and vice versa.

The Autonomous Organisation for Spanish Service for Internationalisation of Education (Servicio Español para la Internacionalización de la Educación - SEPIE) is the Spanish National Agency that implements and manages the Erasmus+ KA171 programme, among others. Starting in 2015, the UPV offers inbound and outbound exchange opportunities thanks to the financing received from the SEPIE in its annual KA171 projects for:

• Students: Exchange opportunities with economic support and academic recognition for Bachelor’s/Master’s/Ph.D. Length of exchange stays from 2-5 months.
• Personnel: Teaching and/or training stays with economic support for a period of 5 days.

The calls for applications to participate in these exchange programmes are published on a regular basis, and access is granted based on competition.

The complete list of countries and institutions that take part in each project, the length of stay and the amount of grants are indicated in the sections describing each of the projects in progress, which may vary according to SEPIE's financing and guidelines.

DIRECT ECONOMIC GRANTS

The direct economic grants consist of the sum of a fixed monthly/daily allowance (individual grants), which is calculated according to the length of stay and the participant's characteristics, and a travel grant that varies depending on the distance of the trip.

1) INDIVIDUAL GRANTS FOR TRAVEL

The amount to be received will be calculated according to the actual stay, i.e., the stay that corresponds to the start and end dates on the certificates. In certain cases, 2 additional days will also be financed corresponding to the travel dates.

 2) ADDITIONAL GRANT FOR PARTICIPANTS WITH FEWER OPPORTUNITIES

Students with fewer opportunities are considered to be those who are in any of the following situations (grant is not cumulative if more than one profile applies):

DISABILITY

✓ Having a legally recognised and classified disability equal to or greater than 33%, or an equivalent degree of disability in the case of foreign students.

SOCIOECONOMIC BARRIERS

✓ Being the beneficiary of a general academic stipend from the General Administration of the State for university studies or other higher studies, or of a stipend from the Education Department of the Basque Country, or of a stipend for enrolment in non-University educational levels granted by the Education Department of the Basque Country in the academic year immediately prior to the academic year when the exchange programme is intended to be carried out, or in the academic year in which the exchange programme is carried out.

✓ If the family unit receives benefits from Minimum income for subsistence / Minimum guaranteed income, or any other benefits of equivalent or similar nature, according to the designation adopted in each Autonomous Community.

✓ Being at risk of social exclusion.

✓ Belonging to a large family or a single-parent family.

✓ Currently experiencing a situation of special need or social emergency.

✓ Being a victim of terrorism, gender-based violence or orphanhood.

✓ Currently experiencing a situation of dependency or being in charge of other dependent persons.

✓ Having a full-time employment contract.

GEOGRAPHIC BARRIERS

✓ Being enrolled in the centre located in the Autonomous Cities of Ceuta or Melilla, or living at an address registered in the municipal registry of these cities, in the event that the student enrols in a non-face-to-face educational institution.

HEALTH PROBLEMS

✓ Experiencing physical or mental problems that imply the need for additional support.

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES

✓ Being considered a refugee or being entitled to supplemental protection, or having submitted an application for international protection in Spain, or in another country, in the case of inbound participants.

Regardless of the destination, and always contingent on the existence of funding, an additional monthly amount of €250 will be offered to students who are members of one of the groups described.

3) TRAVEL GRANTS

The amount to be received is calculated according to distance (number of kilometres) between the city of origin and the city of destination, regardless of the actual value of the tickets purchased.

The tool utilised for this calculation shall be the Erasmus+ official distance calculator:

https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/distance-calculator_es

SUPPLEMENTARY ECONOMIC GRANTS

1) SUPPLEMENTARY GRANT FOR SUPPORT FOR INCLUSION

Support for inclusion will cover additional costs directly related with participants with fewer opportunities, which, in the case of students, cannot be covered through the additional grant for individual support. In particular, these costs are intended for the additional financial support required so that participants with physical, mental or health problems can participate in the exchange programme and in the preparatory visits, and for the people accompanying them (including travel and accommodation expenses, if these are justified and if these are not covered by the budget categories “travel” and “individual support” for these participants.)

The grant must be expressly applied for (it is not an automatic allocation), and the amount will cover 100% of the actual eligible costs.

In order to access this support, participants must have a disability legally recognised and classified in a degree equal or greater than 33% (or equivalent disability in the case of foreign students), or experience physical, mental or health-related problems that are properly accredited with the corresponding medical certificate, while also meeting the rest of the eligibility criteria established in the Programme.

People interested in participating in an Erasmus+ exchange stay as a guest at the UPV/EHU must have a language certificate that accredits the level requested by the host University at the moment when they register for the call for applications.

More information on linguistic accreditations at:

https://www.ehu.eus/es/web/nazioarteko-harremanak/hizkuntza-gaitasunaren-akreditazioa

1) DOCUMENTATION PRIOR TO THE EXCHANGE PROGRAMME

1) In the first phase of the process (selection of beneficiaries), participants must submit the documents expressly listed in each call for applications. These are usually:

• Application for registration (Annex 2)
• Copy of the National ID document / Foreigner’s Identification Number (NIE).
• Work programme, explanatory report or training agreement (Annex 3)
• Acceptance of the work plan proposal by the counterpart to the respective applicant at the host university (Annex 4).
• Applicant's Curriculum Vitae in English (in Spanish for applicants from Latin America).
• Linguistic accreditation
• For inbound individuals: Documents that provide evidence of their employment relationship with the University of origin and that they comply with the profile required by the position that they are applying for

2) Once the beneficiaries of the exchange grants are selected, they will submit in the second part of the process the documents required to validate their stipend:

• Copy of the flight tickets providing details of the itinerary, dates and means of transport utilized for each segment of the trip.
• Aid agreement. A complete signed copy of this agreement provided by the International Relations Office must be submitted.
• A copy of the travel insurance policy. Before arrival to the University of destination, participants will take out a travel assistance insurance policy that covers for medical and pharmaceutical expenses in the event of illness or accident during their entire stay, and that especially includes unlimited cover for repatriation costs in the event of death or medical transfer to the place of origin in the event of serious illness or accident.

Taking out a travel insurance policy is mandatory for participants in the Erasmus+ programme and a necessary condition to receive the economic grant. The UPV/EHU offers the IBILI-EHU insurance policy.

Inbound participants will also need to present their passport, submit a bank certificate and fill out a bank form in order to receive the stipend in their international bank accounts.

Participants will be responsible for obtaining the visa required to enter and/or stay in the country, if applicable, and to follow any other administrative procedure required to remain in the country. A copy of the visa can be required by the International Relations Office before the trip, but the UPV does not accept responsibility for the loss of opportunity to participate in the exchange programme due to the participant's failure to comply with this procedure.

The UPV can issue letters of invitation to streamline the participants’ visa procedure. If a letter of invitation is required, it can be requested by writing to: pc.international@ehu.eus

2) DOCUMENTATION DURING THE EXCHANGE PROGRAMME

Once they are in the country of destination, students who participate in a long exchange programme must submit the following documents.

• Start certificate / Certificate of arrival:
  • Within a period of 1 month from enrolling in the University of destination, students will send to the UPV a certificate issued by the centre of destination that confirms the date on which they have enrolled. This must be properly filled in, signed and sealed by that university.
  • If this document has not been submitted once the submission period expires, it will be possible to un-enrol the participant from the programme without academic recognition, without collecting any economic aid and with imposition of a penalty.
  • The date of issue of the certificate may by no means be prior to the date of the start of the student’s stay in the university of destination.
• UPV/EHU's initial survey regarding the exchange programme: The participant must respond to the UPV/EHU's initial survey regarding the exchange programme, where initial assessments of the exchange programme must be recorded.
• UPV/EHU's interim survey regarding the exchange programme: At the halfway point of the exchange programme, an interim survey will be sent to participants as follow-up on their experience.

In both cases, the International Relations Office will send to the beneficiaries of the exchange programme the relevant instructions for this.

3) DOCUMENTATION AFTER THE EXCHANGE PROGRAMME

• Certificate of end of stay (for students with a long stay) and Certificate of attendance (for personnel with a short stay): The participant must reliably accredit the actual stay and the length of the stay within one month after the end of the stay by providing the relevant certificates, properly filled in, signed and sealed by the university of destination.

If this document has not been submitted once the submission period expires, it will be possible to un-enrol the student/personnel member from the programme without academic recognition, without collecting any economic aid and with imposition of a penalty.

The date of issue of the certificate may by no means be prior to the date of the start of the student’s stay in the University of destination.

• EU SURVEY Questionnaire: The European Commission will send the beneficiaries an automatic notification to complete the Questionnaire called EU SURVEY / Participant’s report.  

This online response form is MANDATORY. The message will indicate an access link where beneficiaries must fill in and submit the form within 30 calendar days from the reception of this message.

Warning! The notification email may enter as spam, and it is important to pay attention to respond on time.

Failure to fill in the report is considered non-compliance with the programme and may result in request for refund of the grant received and loss of recognition of participation in the ERASMUS+ exchange programme.

• UPV/EHU's final survey regarding the exchange programme: The participant must respond to the UPV/EHU's final survey regarding the exchange programme. The International Relations Office will send to the beneficiaries of the exchange programme the relevant instructions for this.
• Report regarding dissemination and impact of the exchange programme (university personnel): When participants in personnel exchange programmes return to their university of origin, they must organise a meeting (with their supervisors and/or co-workers) in order to share and disseminate the experience in the country of destination, the goals achieved, contacts made, etc. After this meeting they must forward a copy of the minutes/report that includes information on the dissemination carried out to: pc.international@ehu.eus
• Technical report (PhD candidates): PhD candidates must also present the technical report, signed by the candidate and their supervisor at the destination, recording the progress achieved at the destination with regard to the work plan proposed at the beginning.
• Testimonial: On a voluntary basis, participants in exchange programmes can leave a testimonial of their experience to encourage new candidates to register for future calls for applications for Erasmus+ programmes. The International Relations Office will send to the beneficiaries of the exchange programme the relevant instructions for this.

CONCLUSION OF THE PROCESS

Once the exchange programme has finalized and the International Relations Office has verified that all documents have been validly submitted and filled in completely, the participant will receive a Certificate of participation in the Erasmus+ exchange programme.