Outgoing student mobility for the purpose of a study stay involves going to a foreign higher education institution for a certain period of time (usually one semester), after which the student returns to the Polytechnic where he/she continues his/her studies. During the mobility, the student remains enrolled at the Polytechnic while being registered as an exchange student at the foreign higher education institution.
During mobility, the student attends courses and takes exams agreed upon in the study agreement, which generally replace the courses that he or she would have to attend and take at his or her home department during the mobility semester. The content of the mobility may also include research, i.e. work on a final, diploma or doctoral thesis, but such a form of mobility is only possible under the supervision of a tutor at the foreign institution and with the permission of the mentor at the home department.
After the mobility period, the student returns to the Polytechnic, where the courses passed are recognized based on the application submitted by the student to the home department, the study agreement, and the transcript of grades with the indicated ECTS points issued by the foreign institution upon completion of the mobility period. A more detailed description of the recognition procedure can be found in the Regulations on International Mobility. After the home department makes a decision on recognition, the student can enroll in the next semester or, in the case of the end of the study period, take the final exam or defend the final thesis.
Students can go on mobility through various mobility programs that provide financial support for mobility. The most famous program through which the largest number of students of the Polytechnic go on mobility is Erasmus+, but in addition to it, there are also CEEPUS and other mobility programs.
First of all, it is important to know that mobility needs to be planned on time because the Erasmus+ call for applications for study stays (EU countries + Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey) is announced once a year: at the end of the winter semester for mobility in the winter and summer semesters of the next academic year, while calls for applications within the KA107/KA171 projects (so-called partner countries outside the EU) are announced separately depending on the available funds.
For Erasmus+ mobility for the purpose of a study stay, before applying for the competition, it is necessary to select possible destinations, i.e. at least one and at most three higher education institutions that offer study programmes and courses that correspond to the courses that the student should take at the home department in the mobility semester. The chosen courses do not have to be identical to those that the student would take at the home department, and the student must consult the Erasmus coordinator at the home department about their choice. Although Erasmus+ study stays are possible only at institutions with which the Polytechnic has signed an inter-institutional Erasmus+ agreement, this does not mean that the student cannot choose higher education institutions with which such an agreement does not exist when applying for the competition. It is important that in such cases the student contacts the home department and the International Relations Office in a timely manner in order to initiate the procedure for signing the agreement.
A study stay at a foreign higher education institution cannot be shorter than two or longer than 12 months, while the optimal stay is one semester. Exceptionally, students in specific situations and with fewer opportunities can achieve a short-term internship in which the physical part must last between 5 and 30 days with mandatory virtual mobility before, during and/or after the physical part of the mobility. The virtual part of the mobility is not time-limited. When applying for the Erasmus+ competition, the student does not need to know the exact dates of the mobility, but must specify the mobility semester as well as the number of months he/she intends to spend on mobility.
The criteria for selecting candidates are defined by the competition, and the most important criteria are the submitted complete competition documentation and the candidate's academic success, which gives the candidate from 0 to 25 points. In addition to the above criteria, the criteria are also the quality of the motivation letter, the level of study and the choice of the receiving institution (preference is given to students who go to EU-Conexus partner universities).
After the announcement of the results of the competition (early April), all candidates are invited to an informational interview, followed by application to the host institution, final selection of courses and drawing up of a study agreement, awarding of financial support, regulation of health insurance abroad, organization of travel and accommodation. It is also important that the student informs the departmental Erasmus coordinator in time about the intention to undertake mobility and requests approval for mobility (on the form provided) from the home department.
Erasmus+ financial support under the new Erasmus+ KA131 Project for 2022 amounts to 500 to 550 euros per month for a study stay depending on the cost of living in the host country, while financial support for mobility under the KA107/KA171 projects amounts to 700 euros + travel costs. The amounts of financial support for individual countries and Projects can be found here. Students of lower socioeconomic status are entitled to apply for additional financial support in the amount of 250 euros per month. In addition to students of lower socioeconomic status and refugees and asylum seekers, students belonging to the following categories are also entitled to an additional 250 euros of monthly Erasmus+ financial support: students who are children of Croatian war veterans, students from the Roma minority, students from alternative care, homeless students and those at risk of homelessness, students from rural areas of smaller towns and islands, and students who have completed vocational school. Due to possible increased costs during the mobility period, students in specific circumstances are entitled to an increased amount of financial support in accordance with the costs arising from these circumstances (disability, chronic illness, etc.). Students cannot receive financial support if their stay is financed in parallel from European Union funds, and national/local scholarships received by the student are not considered double funding.
Applications for additional support for students from lower socioeconomic status and students in special categories are accepted within the framework of regular Erasmus+ calls. All calls and their results are published here.
You can find more information about the Erasmus+ program here or under answers to frequently asked questions from students.
Mobility can be achieved in two ways: through CEEPUS networks or by applying for CEEPUS freemover scholarships.
CEEPUS networks are established by related faculties or university departments, and within the networks, students can apply for mobility in the winter semester (application deadline is June 15) or in the summer semester (application deadline is October 31). Applications are made online via the website www.ceepus.info in cooperation with the CEEPUS coordinator at the home department. More information about CEEPUS networks in which university departments participate, as well as information about network coordinators, can be found here.
In case all scholarships within the CEEPUS network have not been used, students, regardless of the department they are studying in, are given the opportunity for mobility through the so-called CEEPUS freemover scholarship. Within the framework of the CEEPUS freemover scholarship, it is possible to stay at any university in the countries included in the CEEPUS program. In most cases, mobility can be achieved during the summer semester, and the application deadline is November 30. Applications are made online via the website www.ceepus.info.
Financial support is tailored to the needs and living conditions in a particular country. Scholarships include accommodation, food and a certain amount of money (information on the amount of scholarships for individual countries can be found here), while travel costs are covered by the National CEEPUS Office at the Agency for Mobility and Programmes of the European Union in accordance with the procedure specified here.
More information about the CEEPUS program can be found on the CEEPUS website, at the University's International Relations Office, and on the website of the National CEEPUS Office.
Read more about other mobility programs here, and if you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact the International Relations Office.
