Internship Abroad with Erasmus+

Prerequisites for applying for an Erasmus+ internship:

• Enrollment at TH Köln - University of Applied Sciences
• An internship position in one of the 28 EU member states or in Macedonia, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Turkey
• Traineeship duration of a minimum of 2 months and a maximum of 12 months
• Full-time traineeship of at least 35 hours per week for internships in France and 37 hours per week for internships in other countries.
• Adequate professional relevance of the internship for the student’s degree program

• Funding can only be given to students for stays abroad in a program country that is not the country of the sending university and is not their main country of residence at the time the grant agreement is signed.

• Graduate Internships – previously implemented through the Leonardo da Vinci Program – are now part of the ERASMUS+ program. As a result, ERASMUS+ will be able to support internships up to one year after graduation of a study cycle. The same prerequisites apply to graduate traineeships. However, candidates are required to apply for the program within the last semester of the degree program.

How do I apply for an internship abroad with Erasmus+?

Please submit all of the following application documents at the latest eight weeks prior to the beginning of the traineeship in Mobility Online. In exceptional cases, we will examine whether an application submitted after this deadline is possible.

• Learning Agreement for Internships bearing a confirmation of the internship by your employer and your faculty. Please note that only complete training agreements can be accepted.
• Grant Agreement - The Department of International Affairs will mail this document to you once you have submitted all application documents. Prior to the traineeship, please make sure that you have taken out adequate insurance (health, accident and liability insurance), as this has to be attested to in the Grant Agreement.
• Letter of motivation including your reasons for having chosen your traineeship. This letter should make reference to your academic discipline and your future professional career.
• Signed CV/résumé
• Certificate(s) of enrollment. Certificates of enrollment for the timeframe of the traineeship may be handed in at a later point in time if you are not in possession of them at the time of your application.
• Up-to-date transcript of records
• The following applies to applicants for Graduate Traineeships: Graduates have to be removed from the register of students for the duration of the traineeship and are required to submit a corresponding confirmation (Exmatrikulationsbescheinigung) or their diploma. Alternatively, a confirmation by the university that all examinations have been passed is accepted as well.

Scholarship

You will receive 80 percent of your grant at the beginning of your traineeship; the remaining 20 percent will be paid once you have completed your traineeship and have handed in all required documents and reports.

For the mobility year 2023/24, the monthly scholarship rate will be determined by the country of your stay. The following rates apply:

• Group of countries 1:  DK, FI, IR, IS, LI, LU, NO, SW

Monthly rate = 600 euros

• Group of countries 2:  AT, BE, FR, GR, I, MA, NL, PT, ES, ZY

Monthly rate = 540 euros

• Group of countries 3:  BG, EST, CRO, LE, LIT, EJRM, PO, RU, SE, SLK, SLO, TCH, TR, UNG

Monthly rate = 490 euros

One month equals 30 days. A mobility of 3 months and 10 days will for instance be reported as an aggregate mobility of 100 days and will be funded as such.

Top-ups

internships:150,- Euro / month

for students with less opportunities*: 250,- Euro / month

green travel: 50,- Euro

Special Support for Students /Top-Up for students with less opportunities

Students with less opportunities* will receive 250 euros per month in addition to their Erasmus grant.

* In project 2023 and 2024 this concerns:

- Undergraduates and graduates with a disability of GdB 20 or more or chronic illnesses

- Undergraduates and graduates who spend their stay abroad with children

- First-time academics (students from a non-academic home)

- working students

Please indicate your respective needs when applying in Mobility Online and contact us regarding the further procedure.

Special funding for students with child

Students who are funded for an internship abroad via Erasmus+ and are traveling abroad with their child/children can apply for a monthly top-up amount (top-up for students with fewer opportunities), which is paid in addition to the regular Erasmus+ funding rate.

Regardless of the number of children traveling with them, the monthly allowance is 250 €.

In addition, a real cost application can be submitted at least two months before the mobility to support any additional costs incurred. Please prepare the application in cooperation with the Department of International Affairs at an early stage. The NA DAAD decides on the approval of funds.

Extending your stay abroad

It is generally possible for you to extend your traineeship as long as the duration of the traineeship does not exceed 12 months. You are required to request each extension of your traineeship with Ms. Alice Herma at least four weeks prior to the end of the originally scheduled end of your traineeship.

Language proficiency

Within the current Erasmus+ generation, Online Language Support is provided through the EU Academy, the European Commission's learning management platform - for participants of both funding lines (Erasmus in Europe KA131 and Erasmus worldwide KA171).

Online Language Support learning content:
The open area provides some basic language learning content. Here, teaser and taster videos are gradually made available, introducing the languages and some elementary aspects of language learning.
The second area, also called the core area, provides Erasmus+ participants with access to Online Language Support. In the core area, additional features are available, such as the placement tests for Erasmus+ participants (so-called self-assessments) or the designation of a community manager who can support participants in their language learning. In the core area, the language offering will be expanded to 29 languages and additional learning levels and content will also be developed.

What you need to know:

• TH Köln's Erasmus+ team will invite you by email to register in the EU Academy's OLS before the start of your mobility. With the help of this hyperlink, participants will directly access the core area of OLS and thus have the possibility to access the learning content and also to perform self-assessments.
• Participants are entitled to online language support if their physical stay exceeds 14 days.
• The pre-departure testing requirement is contractually stipulated in the Grant Agreement for students.
• Participants are not yet linked to a project. As a result, the progress of participants cannot be monitored by the university.
• The DAAD has therefore abandoned the verification of whether participants have taken a language test before leaving the country as of August 12, 2022.
• Access to the Online Language Platform is available for three years.

After the Mobility

Please submit the following documents at the latest four weeks after the end of your traineeship:

• Traineeship Certificate on the Learning Agreement or the original copy of your employer’s letter of reference
• Detailed final report as PDF-file
• All students who have participated in an Erasmus+ mobility are required to fill out the EU Online Survey following their mobility. You will automatically be sent the link to the survey once you have completed your traineeship.