erasmus

Erasmus Exchange Programme

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Erasmus Exchange Programme Coordinator;

What is Erasmus Exchange Programme?

The grant support provided by the European Commission in the field of higher education under the Lifelong Learning Programme, which was carried out between 2007-2013 and ended in 2014, will continue under the Erasmus+ Programme between 2014-2020.

The Erasmus+ Programme aims to provide more effective tools to promote cooperation between different sectors in line with the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy for new needs in the fields of education, youth and sport. Specific to the field of higher education, it aims to improve the quality of higher education and strengthen the cooperation of higher education institutions with each other and with the business world.

The target group of Erasmus+ activities, in the broadest sense, includes institutions and organisations involved in higher education, their staff and students. Applications can only be made by institutions and organisations to the Directorate for European Union Education and Youth Programmes or to the Educational, Visual and Cultural Executive Agency, which is the relevant unit of the EU Commission, depending on the type of project. Individual applications are not accepted.

With this activity under Key Action 1 (KA1), it is aimed to improve the qualifications of higher education students and staff and to provide them with professional development opportunities abroad. In this context, the following activities are supported in order to increase the opportunities for higher education students to study abroad, to provide them with the skills they need to make the transition from education and training to business life, and to increase the pedagogical skills of higher education staff to obtain business practice knowledge or to increase their pedagogical skills:

Student Mobility: University students studying in a higher education institution abroad or doing an internship in a company or any other institution/organisation abroad,

Staff Mobility: The academic staff of higher education institutions or a staff member working in enterprises to give a lecture in a higher education institution abroad or all academic and administrative staff of higher education institutions to attend a course/training (except conferences) or on-the-job training/observation for their professional development in an organisation abroad.

With Erasmus Student Mobility for Learning, students enrolled in a higher education institution in Turkey with Erasmus University Charter (EÜB), which provides formal education in Turkey, have the opportunity to be an exchange student at a higher education institution with EÜB in another European country for 1 or 2 semesters (between 3-12 months) within 1 academic year and to receive financial support for the period of their stay abroad within the programme. The financial support is non-refundable and is not intended to cover all the costs of the students, but only to help with the additional costs arising from the mobility. Selected students can become Erasmus students as “Erasmus student without grant (“0″ grant)” if they wish.

Student mobility is realised in two ways:

Learning mobility,

Internship mobility.

Students enrolled in formal education in higher education institutions can participate in student mobility in higher education. Students studying in open education and similar (distance education) programmes cannot benefit from the activity.

Grants are only awarded for the following activities abroad:

Full-time associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral studies, including thesis preparation (but excluding research assignments and external research work outside the research studies that make up the study programme), which are the main part of the recognition of the diploma/degree at a higher education institution with an Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE),

Compulsory or optional full-time internships recognised by the higher education institution as part of the student’s study programme.

A full-time student is a student who has not yet completed the studies (credits) required for his/her diploma/degree and is expected to have a course load equivalent to 30 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits in one semester.

Full-time internship is the internship carried out by the student on a full working day basis during the activity period.

Student Mobility-Learning (SMS)

This mobility activity is carried out within the framework of the Higher Education Erasmus Charter and the existing inter-institutional agreements of the higher education institution.

The activity consists of the student enrolled in the higher education institution carrying out a part of his/her education in the higher education institution abroad, which is partnered with an inter-institutional agreement. The duration of the activity can be between 3 and 12 months (1, 2 or 3 semesters according to the systems of some countries) that can be completed within the same academic year, valid for each level of education separately. Education level refers to associate/undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels.

Students studying in the first year of associate degree and undergraduate programmes and graduated students cannot benefit from the study mobility activity.

Students who will participate in the activity must be full-time students. Students are expected to follow a programme equivalent to 60 ECTS credits for one full academic year, 30 ECTS credits for one semester in a two-semester academic year and 20 ECTS credits for one semester in a three-semester academic year in order to carry out the studies required by their diploma/degree abroad. Successful credits in the programme followed are granted full academic recognition; unsuccessful credits are repeated at the host institution.

Student Mobility – Internship (SMP)

This mobility activity is the internship of a student enrolled in a higher education institution in an enterprise1 abroad. “Internship” is the process of receiving vocational training and/or gaining work experience within an enterprise or organisation in another country participating in the programme. The internship activity cannot be used to carry out studies such as research assignments, analysis studies related to academic studies carried out within the scope of a specific curriculum. The internship activity is to gain practical work experience in the field of vocational education in which the student is a student.

The internship activity is not expected to be compulsory for the student’s diploma programme. However, the economic sector in which the internship will be carried out must be a sector related to the student’s current vocational education programme.

Studies, scientific researches and projects carried out by students to complete or support their own scientific studies are not accepted as internship activities. In order for these activities to be internship activities, they must be carried out not within the scope of academic studies, but as professional activities that have an economic equivalent in the relevant sector. For example, for the purpose of product development; working in a research and development (R&D) company or in the R&D unit of a company or working in experimental studies and research conducted by an economically active company in a higher education institution or research centre is considered within the scope of internship activity.

The duration of the activity is between 2 and 12 months, valid for each level of education separately. The internship activity can be carried out in each class during the study period and within 12 months after graduation of the students in the last year of the study programmes. In the internship activity to be carried out after graduation, the application must be made before the student graduates (while he/she is still an associate, undergraduate or graduate student). Graduated students cannot apply.

The definition of enterprise includes companies, higher education institutions, research centres, self-employed, family businesses and any other organisation that regularly engages in economic activity. The determining factor for an organisation to be considered an enterprise is not its legal personality, but its economic activity.

Post-graduation internship mobility must be completed within 12 months from the date of graduation. The total duration of the post-graduation internship and the mobility period carried out by the student at the same level should not exceed 12 months.

If the institution abroad where the internship activity will be carried out is a higher education institution, the work to be carried out is not an academic learning activity, but a practical working experience in the relevant units. Graduate students who are in their thesis period should apply to the activity within the scope of Learning Mobility-Learning for studies to be carried out under the supervision of a supervisor, which are creditable but not within the scope of internship.

The following organisations are not eligible for higher education internship activities under Erasmus+

European Union institutions and EU agencies (see.https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/institutions-bodies_en )

Organisations such as the National Agency etc. carrying out EU programmes.

Erasmus Study Mobility can be carried out within the scope of inter-institutional agreements. Institutions make an application announcement to their students to determine the Erasmus students who will go within the framework of their existing agreements. The mobility activity can only be carried out between Erasmus University Charter holder institutions that have an agreement with each other. In order to benefit from Learning Mobility, students must apply to the Erasmus Coordinatorships of their home institutions and participate in the selection process. Each institution determines its own application and selection dates.

Before the start of the mobility period, the Centre for European Union Education and Youth Programmes determines the annual national priorities for Erasmus students to be selected and the criteria for their selection. Higher education institutions select their students according to the selection criteria determined by the Directorate for European Union Education and Youth Programmes.

A student can benefit from Erasmus study and/or traineeship mobility for up to 12 months in total at each level of study (undergraduate, postgraduate, doctorate). Receiving an internship mobility grant does not preclude receiving a study mobility grant.

Please refer to the National Call for Proposals for Lifelong Learning of the relevant academic year for the selection conditions and grant amounts of the students.

Academic Status, Course Registration and Academic Fees

The courses that the student is required to take in the higher education institution in Turkey, the equivalent courses in the destination institution are determined and the recognition of the courses taken is recorded and secured by the Learning Agreement signed between the student, the student’s home institution and the destination institution before the exchange period. Course names and contents are not expected to be exactly the same, a high level of similarity of course contents is sufficient. The recognition of the courses included in a Learning Agreement, which must be signed by the authorities of the institutions and the student, is committed during the application for the Erasmus University Charter of the higher education institution and in case of violation, the Centre is obliged to report the situation to the European Commission and this may result in the cancellation of the Charter of the institution.

When selecting courses, 30 ECTS credits for 1 semester and 60 ECTS credits for 1 year should be targeted. The student is expected to accumulate 2/3 of the credits of the courses taken as a success target. Students who are deemed successful will be counted as if they have spent the period(s) of their education abroad in Turkey when they return to Turkey. Students who are deemed unsuccessful will continue their education from where they left off before they became Erasmus students, but they will be exempted from the courses equivalent to the credit total of the courses they are successful in.

Erasmus students are enrolled in the university where they are enrolled in Turkey, there is no registration freeze for the period they will spend abroad. Registration and tuition fees are paid to the home institution where the students are registered, no registration or tuition fee is paid to the destination institution. However, the destination institution may request small payments other than registration and tuition fees from Erasmus students. Examples of such payments can be sports facilities subscription fee, transport fee.

What is the Erasmus Programme?

1- The Erasmus programme is not a “foreign language learning programme”.

2- Erasmus programme is not a “scholarship” programme.

3- Erasmus programme is not a “diploma” programme.

Source: National Agency Erasmus Coordinatorship e-mail address: erasmus@ua.gov.tr

Application Requirements

Estimated quotas for study and internship mobility are planned and announced separately for faculties or preferably departments. It is recommended that the quotas for bachelor’s, master’s, doctorate and associate degree are indicated separately.

Inter-institutional agreements and quotas for study mobility are announced on the website of the higher education institution and on the relevant faculty notice boards.

Students cannot be selected to participate in the mobility activity unless there is a partner higher education institution (host institution) or internship place where the student will be sent:

For learning mobility: Before the student is selected, an “inter-institutional agreement” must be made between the two higher education institutions to cover the mobility period.

For internship mobility: Before the student is selected, the company where the internship will be carried out must be known and it must be sure that it will accept the student. If the internship activity will be carried out in a higher education institution, it is not obligatory to make an inter-institutional agreement between the two higher education institutions (sending and receiving). However, if preferred, the activities can be included in the agreement by filling in the internship activity section in the inter-institutional agreement format and the relevant information can also be written. The start of the applications is announced on the website of the higher education institution and on the notice boards and a call for application is made.

Applications of all students who want to apply for the programme are received; no student can be prevented from applying. Students cannot be charged under various names regarding the applications and selection of students. The applications of the students who apply are recorded by the higher education institution and after the applications are completed, an “eligibility check” form is prepared and all applications are checked.

In order to participate in the activity, students must first fulfil the following minimum requirements:

The student must be a full-time student enrolled in a higher education programme at any of the formal education levels (first, second or third level)4 within the higher education institution,

a) The cumulative academic grade point average of the first level students must be at least 2.20/4.00,

b) The cumulative academic grade point average of second and third level students must be at least 2.50/4.00,

Having a sufficient number of ECTS credit load for learning mobility

If the student has benefited from higher education mobility activities6 during the Erasmus+ and Lifelong Learning (LLP) period within the current education level, the total duration together with the new activity should not exceed 12 months.

In institutions using the 100 system, whether the minimum grade point average requirement is met is determined by using the equivalents specified in the grade conversion chart prepared by the Council of Higher Education.

Higher education institutions may raise the base score threshold in case of excessive application demand, provided that it complies with the criteria set by the Centre. However, the new base score should not prevent the Centre from receiving applications at least 2 times the number of quotas. In no case can the base score be raised after the application announcement is made.