NEWS:

• Imperial College will not be providing Erasmus grants to any student in 2022-23.
• Imperial College will not be providing grants for Erasmus Traineeships in 2021-22, except for eligible undergraduate year in industry placements. The College has limited funds available to it due the decision by the UK to not participate in Erasmus once current projects have been concluded. The College has decided to prioritise the use of existing Erasmus funds for the provision of mobility grants for undergraduate year abroad (study) students and undergraduate year in industry students.

Therefore, when reading the remainder of this page please take this new item into account.

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Co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.

Key Action 1 is all about providing opportunities for students to improve their skills, enhance their employability and gain cultural awareness.

Students are able to spend a period of time in another participating country gaining valuable experience of life, study/work with the aim of increasing the opportunities available to them in the future.

Under Key Action 1 there are two mobility platforms for HE students:

• Mobility between 'programme countries' (Key Action 1.03). Imperial College applies annually for funding under 1.03 to run mobility projects through structured study abroad opportunities and work/industrial experience for which the College will award academic recognition upon successful completion. This element of Erasmus+ includes the traditional Erasmus Study exchange scheme which has operated since 1987, and at Imperial since 1989. 'Programme countries' are currently the EU, wider-EEA, Turkey, North Macedonia and Serbia. Switzerland is not a 'programme country'.
• Mobility between 'programme countries' and 'partner countries' (Key Action 1.07). Imperial College continues to consider the merits of this particular mobility platform, and may particpate in the future.

 

Key Action 1.03 (student mobility)

There are two types:

• Study
• Traineeship

Important: Students may undertake up to 12 months’ mobility in total per academic cycle (i.e. 12 months during their bachelor degree, 12 months during their master’s degree etc). Each 12 month period can consist of any combination of eligible study and/or traineeship mobilities. Imperial MSci/MEng undergraduates need to remember that the last year of their degree is at masters level, so the previous years are at bachelor level.

Study

A study period in a 'programme country' can last from 3 to 12 months. At Imperial study mobility is normally limited to undergraduate year abroad. Annually the College funds 40-55 undergraduate year abroad students while hosting 80-100 from its partner universities.

The purpose of the grant is to act as a supplement to assist with the additional costs of undertaking a mobility period abroad. It is not a full living allowance. It is allocated per month of eligible activity abroad.

A recent Erasmus study abroad participant endorsed their experiences: "My year abroad has made me reflect on what I am studying and re-ignited my love and passion for my subject. I am not the only one that has said this, going abroad makes you see your subject in a different light. You are faced with a challenge and you have to find solutions to problems. I have thoroughly improved my French and met some really amazing people. At the end of the day, it's up to you to make your time abroad what you want it to be."

Traineeship

NEWS: Imperial College will not be providing grants for Erasmus Traineeships in 2021-22 or 2022-23, except for eligible undergraduate year in industry. The College has limited funds available to it due the decision by the UK to not participate in Erasmus once current projects have been concluded. The College has decided to prioritise the use of existing Erasmus funds for the provision of mobility grants for undergraduate year abroad (study) and year in industry students.

A traineeship (work placement) in a 'programme country' can last from 2 to 12 months. At Imperial there are a variety of students who benefit (undergraduate year in industry; undergraduate short industrial placements; undergraduate extra-ECTS internships; postgraduate taught masters students; postgraduate research students), and their contact is the academic or adminstrative staff member on their home academic department who will manage the work/industrial placement.

The purpose of the grant is to act as a supplement to assist with the additional costs of undertaking a mobility period abroad. It is not a full living allowance. It is allocated per month of eligible activity abroad.

Please note that the College has opted not to manage traineeships for new graduates. This is an optional element of the Erasmus traineeship scheme where a work/industrial internship organised while an individual is still a student of Imperial College may be supported within 12 months of the student completing their degree programme at Imperial College.