Erasmus+ traineeship grant
The Erasmus programme, the premier scheme for students throughout the EU who wish to study abroad, comes with a series of possible scholarships that are designed to aid students in funding the international internship programme of their choice. International internships give students an invaluable international experience. Prospective employers often favour candidates with such international experience when considering job applications.
General terms and conditions of Erasmus+ traineeship abroad
- Traineeship can be carried out in EU member countries as well as in Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Turkey, Republic of North Macedonia and Serbia.
- The traineeship minimum period is 2 months (60 days) and maxium to 6 months (in some cases, extension of the grant might be possible);
- Erasmus grants may be received several times for study or traineeships abroad, totalling up to 12 months maximum per each level of study;
- The traineeship to be carried out within the Erasmus programme must be a part of the student's study programme at UT. That means traineeship needs to be done under any kind of traineeship course available at UT (there is no minimum or maxium credit points requirements). Before going abroad for the traineeship, the student must apply for recognition of the traineeship abroad. A study plan with a traineeship plan and training agreement must be submitted to the Institute/College/School's office;
- You will be registered as a study abroad student. It is possible to get extention of your nominal studies only in case your traineeship course gives at least 15 ECTS of your curriculum at UT. The extension of the standard period of study will be formalised after your studies at the foreign university have been completed and the study results have been transferred.
- Student needs to have valid health insurance policy for the periood of traineeship. If the receiving organisation does not provide the trainee with accident or liability insurance, it is, according to the Erasmus training agreement, up to the student to find his/her own insurance plan;
- Students studying in fee-based places must pay 30% of their tuition fee to the UT during their traineeship abroad;
- Payment of the study allowance to students doing a traineeship abroad continues unless otherwise decided by the faculty/college/institute.
PhD students traineeship
A traineeship abroad can be counted as a practical part of a doctoral thesis. ECTS for the traineeship will be recognised at attestation.
Recent graduates traineeship
- Application for the Erasmus grant has to be submitted before graduation;
- Traineeship must be carried out during the 12 months after the date of your graduation;
- Traineeship is not part of the study programme and student will not get ECTS for the traineeship abroad therefore the study and traineeship plan are not necessary;
- Recent graduate must find supervisor from UT in order to get his/her consent to the traineeship by signing an application and trilateral training agreement;
- Recent graduates traineeship period is calculated based on the amount of time spent in Erasmus during the student`s most recently completed study level (for example, if you have done an internship and/or studied with the Erasmus+ programme during your Master's studies for a total of 9 months, then as a recent graduate you still have the possibility to do an internship for 3 months);
- During your entire traineeship period you cannot be a student in any educational institution.
NB! Students may participate more than once in the Erasmus+ programme -- up to 12 months per each study level (Bachelor/Master/PhD).
Grant competition
How can I get an Erasmus grant to fund my traineeship abroad?
The Erasmus+ traineeship grant can be applied for up to 6 months. In some cases, extension of the grant might be possible. Please contact the coordinator to discuss extension possibilities.
Each student must find the traineeship positionship on his/her own. You can see some recommendations for finding a position here. You may complete your traineeship in any company or organisation (including higher education institutions) whose area of activity or profile corresponds to the requirements set for your traineeship. You cannot do your traineeship in institutions of the European Union or organisations implementing programmes of the European Union (https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/institutions-bodies_en). Embassies and consulates are allowed for the traineeship.
The content of the traineeship abroad should be previously agreed on with the programme manager of your studies at UT or with the traineeship supervisor at UT and the host institution. To this effect, a trilateral training agreement must be signed. You can only apply for a grant to do your traineeship abroad if the traineeship is credited in fulfilling the study programme of UT.
Exceptions include physiotherapy students who compete for the traineeship grant through the student exchange competition due to contracts with partner universities. Such students must compete once a year for study exchange grant under the terms and conditions of student exchange (http://www.ut.ee/en/studies/studyabroad/erasmus/erasmus-student-exchange), but instead of a learning agreement, they will submit a training agreement.
Deadlines
If you would like to apply for a grant to fund an traineeship, the next deadlines will be:
15. January 2021
15. February 2021
15. March 2021
15. April 2021
31. May 2021
It is suggested that you submit the application documents at least 2-3 months before the beginning of the traineeship abroad period. The minimum period for submitting the documents is at least 1 month beforehand!
Information concerning traineeships
Please note, we can give the traineeship grant only in case the traineeship takes place physically (the grant for the traineeships starting remotely from Estonia is not supported)!
The traineeship minimum period in the host country is for 2 months.
Application documents
In order to apply for a grant for a traineeship abroad, applicants must submit the following documents to Ms. Piret Saluveer, Study Abroad Centre, Ülikooli 18-134:
- Erasmus traineeship grant application
- Erasmus Training Agreement and Guidelines for filling in the Training Agreement (training agreement must be signed by all sides but can be a scanned copy and sent by e-mail)
- Proof of language skills, depending of the language of instruction of the traineeship (all international tests or tests taken in Estonia, including that of the UT Language Centre http://www.maailmakeeled.ut.ee/en/languagetests) or a certificate which proves the required level of the language)
In order to get approval to your Erasmus Training Agreement by UT side (required!), you should additionally submit to your Insitute/Collage/School the following documents (not required from recent graduates):
- a study plan
- a traineeship plan (specifying the content of the traineeship)
The following factors, among others, will be taken into account in the selection procedure for the grant: the connection between the student's current study programme and planned traineeship abroad; the student's command of languages; the student's academic achievements, etc.
The Erasmus grant
The Erasmus grant agreement
Before going abroad, you should enter into an Erasmus programme grant agreement with UT. Under this agreement, students undertake to do the traineeship at the foreign university or other institution during the period set out in the agreement and to submit written confirmation from the partner university of their traineeship achievements. The agreement also stipulates the amount of the grant. In the event that students fail to perform their obligations under the agreement, the university is entitled to demand repayment of the grant and cancel the traineeship period.
Grant
The Erasmus traineeship grant does not cover all of the expenses of working abroad. The grant is first and foremost meant to cover your travel costs and the gap in living standards in different countries. Be prepared to cover the cost of your traineeship to a certain extent yourself. The university will transfer your grant to your (Estonian) bank account immediately prior to the traineeship period (usually within two weeks of you signing the grant agreement). The size of the grant is determined separately each year and the exact size of the grant is not known at the time the competition is going on. NB! The host institutions do not offer free accommodation!
The European Commission's grant amounts for academic year 2019/20 (2018, 2019 project) for UT students for traineeships abroad are the following:
Group of receiving countries |
Countries |
Monthly grant |
Countries with high cost of living
|
Ireland, Island, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, United Kingdom.
|
720 euros per month (30 days in month) |
Countries with medium cost of living | Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Portugal, France, Germany. | 720 euros per month (30 days in month) |
Countries with low cost of living |
Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia (FYROM), Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Rumenia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary. |
670 euros per month (30 days in month) |
Erasmus online language test and language course
The Online Linguistic Support (OLS) language assessment is mandatory for all participants with one of the following languages as the main language of instruction at the host: English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech, Danish, Greek, Portuguese, Swedish, Bulgarian, Croatian, Hungarian, Rumanian, Slovakian or Finnish (with the exception of native speakers). Other languages may be added to the list in the future.
You must take the assessment twice - before and at the end of your mobility period - in order to monitor your progress in the language of mobility. The online assessment assesses your language skills - listening, reading and writing - according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). In addition, selected participants may follow an online language course to improve their competence. Assessment results do not prevent you from taking part in the mobility program, but can be used by the UT to identify the participants most in need of linguistic support. The invitation to the assessment is sent to you via OLS to your e-mail.
Insurance contract
All Erasmus+ traineeship going students must have accident and liability insurance in order to take part Erasmus traineeship abroad programme. If the receiving organisation does not provide the trainee with accident or liability insurance, it is according to the Erasmus training agreement up to the student to contract insurance. The following webpage has a list of Estonian insurance companies and can help you to find the right service and price: www.kindlustusest.ee/student-insurance (with additional questions you can consult info [ät] kindlustusest.ee). Here are some packages (at least liability and accident insurance) by Protrip-world, Crystal Studies and EduCare24.
After returning to the University of Tartu
After returning to Tartu, you have to submit the following to the Study Abroad Centre within 1 month of the expiry of the agreement:
- Traineeship certificate, indicating the length of your traineeship period with the respective dates and a short evaluation (written by your supervisor in host organisation, copy); and
- EU-survey report (the link is sent to the e-mail);
- OLS II language test (the link is sent to the e-mail).
In order to credit the traineeship made abroad as part of your own study programme at the University of Tartu, you should submit the report or other practical training results to your traineeship supervisor, the grade or result for the internship course will be written to the Traineeship plan (Annex of the Study plan) and the institute/college will transfer the ECTS to your curriculum. This is also an important requirement of the traineeship abroad regulations of UT and the grant agreement that the traineeship subject credits will be transfered and shown on your diploma (akadeemiline õiend).
If you need any further information on Erasmus programme, you are always welcome to contact the Study Abroad Centre.
Share your experience
If you are a University of Tartu student that has returned from an international traineeship, and you feel you would like to contribute to our Traineeshio Blog then please tell us about your experience to help other UT students to find the traineeship place!
As you fill out the form, please think about how you would discuss your experience in a semi-casual yet professional setting. Such as to a group of unfamiliar students or to a future employer. Avoid acronyms and jargon that may be unfamiliar to readers. Feel free to write in a more narrative style than a research report. Be candid and honest!