Erasmus+ staff exchange

Erasmus+ is an education and training programme funded by the EU. The programme gives you as an employee at Umeå University, regardless of your role, the opportunity to develop your work skills through participation in various forms of exchanges (not research). You can apply for compensation for an exchange for a period of two days up to two months. Teachers who go on exchange for teaching purposes can also apply for funding for teacher exchange.

Examples of exchange can be:

• Job shadowing is a type of on-the-job training that allows you to follow and closely observe a colleague at a university or organization abroad. The purpose of this is to gain insight into work methods and exchange experiences.
• Participate in relevant seminars and workshops (not conferences). For example Staff training weeks organized by a partner university. Find Staff Weeks
• Attend language courses or other relevant courses.

You can go here

The countries participating in the Erasmus+ programme are: the EU member states and Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey.

EUs list of Overseas countries and territories

How much financial compensation?

The compensation is a lump sum that is intended to cover some of the expenses you have in regard with the teacher exchange, such as travel costs and increased living costs, in order to enable the exchange. The length of your stay, physical distance and the country you have visited determine the amount of compensation.

You will receive compensation for the trip as well as compensation for each day you are away on your exchange. If the travel to/from the exchange takes place the day before or after the exchange itself, you can also receive compensation for up to 2 travel days. In the case of green travel (travel by sustainable means of transport such as: bus, train or carpooling) that takes longer, you can also receive compensation for up to 4 extra travel days.

Example

If you go on a 5-day staff exchange to Rome, which includes transport by air the day before and the day after the exchange, 1480 EUR will be paid in compensation from the Erasmus+ programme to the department/unit. 360 EUR for the trip and 160 EUR/day for 7 days.

In the tables below, you can calculate approximately how much compensation you can receive for your exchange.

Application process

You contact the university, company or organisation you want to visit and make arrangements for the trip by yourself. 

Conditions for applying

You must fulfil these conditions in order to apply for funding for teacher exchange through the Erasmus+ programme:

• You are employed at Umeå University.
• Your manager approves your exchange period.
• The exchange takes place within the framework of your employment.
• The duration of the exchange shall be a minimum of two working days and a maximum of two months. Full-time work is to be expected.
• The exchange must be carried out in one place over a continuous period.
• A continuing education program, work plan, is attached to the application. It can, for example, contain a schedule that describes the exchange.
• Explain why you are going to participate in the activity abroad. Describe your job assignments at Umeå University and your mobility goals. There must be a clear link between your job at the university and the mobility activities. You are welcome to include information about how you will spread your future gained experiences or knowledge when you return.
• The mobility cannot be financed with other EU funds (double funded)

Submit your application

The application is made digitally in our system support Solemove. We need to receive your application no later than one month before your planned staff exchange. The application needs to be complete with all appendices uploaded well in advance of departure. You can submit your application at any time during the year.

1. Read and follow the instructions in the manual on how to apply via Solemove. 

Three documents are mandatory to complete the application. Two documents will be generated automatically by Solemove (Mobility Agreement and Grant Agreement). The document work plan needs to be written by you/the host organization, it should describe the exchange, for example, as a schedule or similar.

Selection process

The funds that Umeå University receives from the Erasmus+ programme are limited and are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. If a selection situation arises, a selection among the applications received will be made based on the criteria in the document below.

Priority staff exchange.pdf

Exchange agreements

No exchange agreement is required to go on a staff exchange, unless the recipient requests it. You can find our Erasmus+ exchange agreements in the exchange agreement database Solemove.

You can go on an exchange through your departments own agreements or another department's agreements. If you want to go on an exchange through another department's agreement, contact that department to get consent. Some agreements only apply to student exchange. If an agreement needs to be drawn up or modified to inclide staff exchange as well, talk to the international contact person at your department to draw up an agreement with the partner university.

Book your travel

We recommend that you use the university's travel agency when going on an exchange. Read more about how to book business travel through the university's travel agency

Insurance

If you are employed by the university or work on behalf of the university, you are covered by the business travel insurance. The insurance applies to all business trips you make on behalf of the university in Sweden and abroad.

Read more about business travel insurance

Processing time after submission of the application

Once your complete application before the exchange has been submitted, it will be processed within 2 working weeks. During the holiday periods, applications are processed if officers are present, this refers to the following times:

1 July–10 August

15 December–10 January.

Should we have any questions, we will contact you. Otherwise you will receive a message from the application system that the application is complete through an email containing the Certificate of Attendance, which you need to get signed during your exchange of the receiving organisation. The document can also be found in the 'Documents' information on this page.

After your exchange

We hope and believe that you will come back from your exchange full of inspiration and new perspectives and be able to apply what you have learned in your work!

There are a few things you need to do after your exchange in order for us to be able to finalize your application.

Upload documents after the exchange

After your exchange, you need to upload the following in Solemove:

• a copy of the travel expense report from PASS
• a signed certificate (Certificate of Attendance) from the foreign higher education institution/organization stating that you have visited them and during which period.

Instructions on how to complete your application in Solemove kan be found in the end of this manual: Application for Erasmus staff

Respond to the survey from the Erasmus+ programme

A report regarding your exchange will be sent by email, you need to answer this as soon as possible after the end of the exchange.

Payment

When your application is completed after the exchange, we will process it. You will receive a payment decision by e-mail that you need to submit to your financial officer or equivalent at the department/unit. Your department/unit will be reimbursed by the Erasmus+ programme based on the information in the tables above. No grants are paid directly to you as an employee.

If the actual cost is lower than the reimbursement, the surplus accrues to the institution and if the cost exceeds the reimbursement, the department must pay the difference.