The application period for Erasmus+ KA103 Staff Mobility for Teaching Assignments (with EU Members and Programme Countries) will be held between 20 March 2017 and 5 May 2017.

Erasmus+ KA103 Staff Mobility for Teaching Assignments (STA) is a field of activity that allows HEI teaching staff of a Turkish higher education institution (holding ECHE*) to teach and carry joint academic/educational activities at a partner HEI (holding ECHE) in the program countries.

The receiving organisation must be a Programme Country HEI awarded with an ECHE. Before the mobility takes place, both the academic department in METU and partner HEI must sign an interinstitutional agreement. You may visit the below website in order to find the list of current Erasmus+ agreements within the framework of Erasmus+ KA103 STA:

http://ico.metu.edu.tr/erasmus-partners

If applicants would like to visit a non-partner HEI, they may talk with the related institution in order to initiate Erasmus+ interinstitutional agreement which may be found in the above website (“Erasmus Agreement Draft”). The Erasmus+ interinstitutional agreement must be finalized before mobility takes place.

1. Application Conditions (Minimum Requirements):

• Applicants must be a member of METU and they must actively work at the time of application
• Applicants must be employed for teaching and lecturing at METU (staff who works as lecturer, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor and Professor)
• Applicants are expected to have a contact with the preferred HEI and receive an acceptance letter (or e-mail) prior to the application deadline (5 May 2017).
• Applications of those candidates who have not received pre-admission will not be evaluated in the selection process. It is sufficient to obtain approval from the academic department in which the activity will take place.

2. Application Forms:

• Pre-admission document/ e-mail taken from the preferred HEI (A draft for pre-admission can be found in the attachment)
• Application form (attached)

Application documents must be sent to akkol@metu.edu.tr by 5 May 2017.

3. Selection Criteria:

You may visit the below website in order to learn more about the application criteria used in the Erasmus+ KA103 STA applications:

http://ico.metu.edu.tr/teaching-mobility-sta

4. Duration of the Activities

The teaching activity can take place between 2 days and 5 days excluding travel time. In order to provide mobility opportunity for higher number of staff, the maximum duration of the mobility period for STA is limited to 5 days (excluding travel time) by METU Exchange Programs Commission. In all cases, a teaching activity has to comprise a minimum of 8 hours of teaching per week (or any shorter period of stay). If the teaching activity/teaching hours last less than 2 days/8 hours (minimum requirement), the activity is considered as void and the grant payment is not made for the related activity.

The activity should take place between the dates: 30.09.2017-31.10.2018

5. Erasmus+ Grants

Daily Grant Amounts

Travel Amount by Distance

The travel amount is calculated by using the below “Distance Calculator”:

http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/tools/distance_en.htm

The distance calculator is used to determine the distance between the location where the staff is resident and the place of activity. The amount of kilometer calculated by the distance calculator corresponds to the round-trip and the amount does not multiply by two.

For disabled participants, it is possible to receive additional grants to meet their specific needs. In order for the disabled staff to be given additional grants, the beneficiary higher education institution is required to request additional grants from the Turkish National Agency. The applications for additional grants should be made during the term of the contract, but in any case up to 60 days before the contract end date. The Turkish National Agency will evaluate each application specifically and determine whether the additional grant can be granted, and if so, the appropriate grant amount. In order to learn more about the application forms, you may visit the following website: https://goo.gl/srJwkS

6. Erasmus Staff Mobility without Grant (Zero-Grant)

It is possible to participate in Erasmus staff mobility programme without grant. Those staff who would like to participate in the programme without grant need to make application and their applications need to be evaluated as the others. Those participants with zero grant have to fulfill rights and obligations of the program.

If you have any questions about the Program, you can contact the International Cooperations Office:

akkol@metu.edu.tr
210 7180 – Burcu Akpınar

 
* The Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) provides the general quality framework for European and international cooperation activities a higher education institution may carry out within Erasmus+. The award of an ECHE is a pre-requisite for all higher education institutions located in a Programme country and willing to participate in learning mobility of individuals and/or cooperation for innovation and good practices under Erasmus+

The applications of Erasmus+ KA103 Traineeship will be held between 01.04.2017 and 16.04.2017. The details of the application and last years’ statistics can be found below.

IMPORTANT

Please bear in mind that:

-Traineeship activity cannot be used to carry out academic and scientific studies such as research assignments or analysis studies within the scope of a specific curriculum. Activities conducted by students in order to complete or support their own scientific studies like scientific researches and projects are not accepted as internship activities. In order for these activities to be accepted as traineeship activities, they should be carried out as professional activities that are economically viable in the related sector, not in academic studies.

-The following organizations are not eligible for Erasmus + traineeship activity:

• EU institutions and agencies (ec.europa.eu/institutions/index_en.htm)
• National Agencies and similar institutions carrying out EU programs

 -Make sure that traineeship activity will be recognized by their departments upon successfully completion.

Who can apply?

-Applicants must be registered at METU as full-degree students at the time of application.

-They must also be able to continue studies at the same level (undergraduate, masters, PhD) at METU the following year, i.e. the year of the exchange.

-Conditional Program (Bilimsel Hazırlık) students and students studying in the Department of Basic English are not eligible to apply.

Please note that:

Students can participate in the Erasmus Traineeship program during their studies at the same level (undergraduate students can participate in the program during their undergraduate studies, master's students can participate in the program during their master's studies, PhD students can participate in the program during their PhD studies).

Start and End Dates of the Application

Application period for the 2017/18 academic year is 01.04.2017 – 16.04.2017

How to Apply?

Students apply online via METU Online Application System: https://application.metu.edu.tr/?lang=EN

During the online applications, applicants will be asked to submit an acceptance letter to the system. Late submissions will not be accepted. 

 The acceptance letters should be signed, stamped and written on a headed paper and include:

- dates & subject of the traineeship

- name of the institution where the traineeship will take place

- name and function of the person who signs the letter

In the acceptance letters, it should be specified that the applicants will work as a trainee rather than a researcher. Those letters including such notions like “research” or “scientific study” will not be accepted.

Minimum CGPA Requirement for Application

Undergraduate students who are considering to apply for Erasmus program should have at least 2, 5 CGPA and graduate students should have at least 3, 0 CGPA over 4, 0.

English Proficiency Exam for Exchange Programs (EPEEP)

English Proficiency Exam for Exchange Programs (EPEEP) for all applicants takes place after the online application period has ended. It is obligatory to take EPEE. For the 2017/18 academic year Erasmus applications, the EPEEP will be held on 18 April 2017.

EPEEP is valid for two consecutive years and students who have taken the exam in the previous 2 years may apply with a previous score. This needs to be indicated on the online application. However, students are allowed to take the EPEEP only once a year and those who have already taken the EPEEP for the ICM application on 7 January 2017 or EPEEEP on 4 March 2017 will not be able to take the exam again for the Erasmus application in April.

The exam is organized by the Department of Basic English. Students who are not able to enter the exam due to a valid excuse should submit a petition explaining their excuse to the International Cooperations Office. Otherwise, their Erasmus application will be regarded as invalid.

Selection Criteria

According to the regulations of the Turkish National Agency, 50% of CGPA and 50% of the English language test score are taken into account in electing prospective Erasmus students. Besides, before calculating the 50% of the CGPA, a coefficient is applied on the CGPA according to the applicants' department and semester information as below:

Student CGPA: 3.15

*the convergent factor to calculate 50% of the CGPA = 25

-  15 points will be added to the overall score of the students who are  the childrens of martyries and veterans.

-  10 points will be added to the overall score of students with disabilities.

-  10 points will be decreased from the overall score of the students for each participation of the Erasmus KA103/ Erasmus Traineeship and Erasmus KA107 in the same study cycle.

-  10 points will be decreased from overall score of the students if they withdraw from 2016/2017 Erasmus program after 8 April 2016.

Duration of the Activity

The duration of the activity is between 2 and 12 months, valid separately for each degree level. The traineeship period cannot be less than 2 months (60 days). The acceptance letters less than 60 days (exactly) will not be accepted.  The traineeship activity should take place between 01.06.2017 and 30.05.2018.

Since 2014/15 academic year, students can participate in the Erasmus program more than once. The same student may receive grants for mobility periods totaling up to 12 months per each cycle of study (UG, MS, PhD), independently from the number and type of mobility activities. This means the duration of Erasmus grants for Erasmus traineeship mobility and Erasmus student mobility and in a specific cycle of study for a student can be maximum 12 months.

However, in order to provide mobility opportunity for higher number of students and because of the budget limitations, the maximum duration of granted period is limited with 2 months. The Erasmus trainees selected for this period will be able to receive Erasmus grant for a 2 months-period.

2017-2018 Erasmus traineeship grants in Euros (monthly)

In case of budget limitations, it is also possible to participate the program without receiving any grant. Those applicants who would like to participate in the program without grant need to make application and their applications need to be evaluated as the others. Those participants with zero grant have to fulfill rights and obligations of the program.

Students who would like to withdraw from the Erasmus traineeship program should inform ICO about withdrawal decision latest by May 5, 2017. Please bear in mind that students who withdraw from the program after May 05, except for the force- majeure cases, will lose 10 points their future Erasmus applications at the same study cycle (academic level).

Erasmus Traineeship Database 2009-2016

Students may also have a look at "Traineeship Announcement" page to see the institutions who are looking for an Erasmus trainee.

Students may be required to obtain a visa for the traineeship period. Please keep in mind that visa procedures may take a long time and students may have to pay fees for visa application (fee amounts vary). Please consult with the embassy of the related country.

Contact e-mail: europeanmobility@metu.edu.tr