Erasmus+ Long-Term Study Stays

General conditions

• Only full-time PhD students can realize a long-term study and research mobility abroad within the frame of the Erasmus+ Programme.
• The student must be a full-time student at VSE for the whole duration of his/her mobility, for which he/she demands the financial support of VSE.
• The study and research mobility must be realized at a foreign university in a programme country of the Erasmus+ Programme, United Kingdom or Switzerland based on a signed bilateral agreement. (In other cases, the long-term study and research mobility is an individual mobility).
• The minimum length of study and research mobility is 2 months; the maximum period for which VSE might provide the financial support is 6 months.

^{PhD students of a distance/combined/external form of study must apply for a financial support for their mobility abroad some other way (e.g. at their faculty/department) or they can use other scholarship programmes outside VSE, where the form of study is not decisive.}

Selection of institution and bilateral agreement

• Firstly, every student should check with his/her faculty/department, if there are any rules concerning the period for mobilities of students – e.g. if students can go abroad only in a certain year of study, if there are some restrictions about the start/termination of the mobility, etc.
• Each student must find and set the conditions for his/her mobility with a foreign institution in cooperation with the respective department at VSE.
• It is necessary to sign a bilateral agreement with the foreign institution, in which the conditions for an exchange of PhD students will be set, namely the length of the mobility and the VSE department responsible for incoming PhD students.
• It is necessary to inform the International Office (ozs [at] vse.cz) about the pre-arranged cooperation between the VSE department and the foreign university on the exchange of PhD students within the frame of the Erasmus+ Programme, as the International Office will mediate the signature of the bilateral agreement.
• Besides tutor and the head of the department it is also necessary to inform the respective Vice-dean for research / Ph.D. studies and the Vice-dean for International Relations of the respective faculty about the planned cooperation.
• The bilateral agreement must be signed before the start of the mobility. Because the process is time-demanding, it is recommended to address the foreign institution and to start negotiating the exchange of PhD students as early as possible (we recommend at least 6 months before the planned start of the mobility).

Finance

• Scholarship for a long-term study and research mobility at a partner university is provided from more sources: the budget of the European Union, the state budget (MEYS), the Scholarship fund of VSE.
• Scholarship serves as a financial support for increased expenses related to the realization of the mobility. Scholarship is not claimable.
• Host countries are divided into two groups by cost of living. To each group, the corresponding amount of scholarship is assigned. An overview of the scholarship amounts assigned by the Czech National Agency:

• In addition to the basic rate (except for Slovakia), PhD students will receive the amount of 10.000 CZK / month of stay*, for the maximum length of 6 months. Students will receive a letter of decision about the award of the scholarship, containing the exact amount.
• Scholarship is paid at the beginning of the mobility. If the mobility takes more than 4 months, the scholarship is paid in two instalments. The payment of the second instalment is related to the submission of the progressive report.

*not applicable to repeated mobilities

Nomination and application

• The respective VSE department caters for the selection of PhD students as well as their nomination to a partner university within the frame of a signed bilateral agreement. The department must provide the International Office the list of nominated students in advance (to ozs [at] vse.cz).
• To be accepted to a partner institution, the PhD student must usually submit an application together with other supporting documents. Each PhD student submits the application individually by the deadline announced by the respective partner institution (usually 2-4 months before the beginning of the mobility). Application forms for individual institutions might differ considerably. Details are usually written on websites or students might receive them by email from a partner university after his/her nomination.

Obligations before the mobility

• After information about study abroad is entered in InSIS, an electronic checklistis created, which is used as an evidence of the administrative requirements (Student’s Portal -> My College -> My College abroad).

Obligations during and after the mobility