ERASMUS+ TRAINEESHIP

The duration of the exchange for mobility for the purpose of traineeship is a minimum of 2 months and a maximum of 12 months. Students remain enrolled at their home academy for the duration of their traineeship. Students who are in the category of those who have the obligation to participate in the costs of their studies, are obliged to continue paying the participation during the duration of the exchange. Exception: final year students, after being selected through a call, can graduate and go on professional practice, provided that the practice is completed within one (1) year from the end of the studies (that is, no later than the end of the program academic year). All candidates, including this category of students, should be students of the University of Zagreb at the time of applying for the competition, the selection process and the selection of candidates. It is not possible to complete the study during the professional practice mobility itself, but only before the mobility begins.

Erasmus+ students of integrated studies are allowed mobility for a total duration of 24 months. Mobility can be achieved more than once during studies - it is important to respect the condition of a maximum of 24 months during studies - the sum of months includes the mobility of study stay (SMS) and professional practice (SMP), for example at the same level of study 6 months SMS + 6 months SMP = 12 months. From the project year 2021, mobility within the Erasmus+ program and within the Erasmus Mundus program is counted as a total of 12 months per study level. The limitation of the total duration of mobility is also applied to students who achieve mobility in the status of zero-grant student. Erasmus+ students are exempt from paying tuition fees at a foreign university.

Erasmus+ traineeship can be carried out by students in private or public companies, institutions, organizations and other entities that have the status of a legal entity and are active on the labor market or in the field of education and youth, and at universities that have been awarded the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education. The receiving institution must be located in one of the program countries, namely the EU member states, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. Mobility is not possible in Switzerland.

Examples of possible receiving institutions:

  • public or private small, medium or large enterprises/companies;
  • public bodies at the local, regional or national level;
  • social partners, such as chambers of commerce, craft associations and trade unions
  • research/scientific institutes, art institutions
  • foundations
  • schools/institutes/educational centers (at any level, from preschool to high school, including vocational education and adult education)
  • non-profit associations, non-governmental organizations
  • institutions that provide counseling services in the field of career development, professional counseling and information services

Erasmus+ professional practice cannot be carried out in EU institutions and other bodies of the European Union, including specialized agencies (list available at https://european-union.europa.eu/institutions-law-budget/institutions-and-bodies/institutions-and-bodies-profiles_en), as well as institutions that manage European Union programs, such as national agencies.

For students who completed traineeship during their studies (before graduation), the home academy is obliged to recognize the successfully completed traineeship activity, in accordance with the Learning Agreement for Traineeships document, which is signed by the student, home academy and receiving institution where the student will do the traineeship. Recognition can be done using the ECTS credit system or, if the traineeship is not part of the student's curriculum, the home academy should record the student's traineeship in the Diploma Supplement or in the transcript of grades in accordance with the Learning Agreement for Traineeships document. Acknowledgment of traineeship for persons who completed their studies before mobility ("recent graduate" status) is possible, for example, through the Europass Mobility Document, the issuing of which the user agrees with the home faculty/academy and the receiving institution.

Students who apply for a traineeship within the Erasmus program can receive financial support. The financial support that a student can receive from Erasmus+ funds is a supplement to the study costs that the student would have at the home university, and therefore covers only part of the living expenses. 

The monthly financial support for traineeship from the Erasmus+ funds for the program is divided into two categories, depending on the country the student is going to: 

  1. for students going to Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway or Sweden, and Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Italy, Greece, Malta, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal or Spain, the monthly amount of support will be 700 €,
    2. for students going to Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia or Turkey, the monthly amount of support will be €650. 

The amounts of monthly grants can be increased if the applicant is in the category of students with fewer opportunities (for more details, please read the specific call).

In the event that students use the green travel for their trip, they can receive a one-time contribution in the amount of €50, and for short-term mobilities as part of combined intensive programs, students with fewer opportunities receive financial support for the trip according to the distance calculation table ("distance band"). More details are available for individual tenders.

Green Erasmus:: Recommendations for participants on how to achieve greener mobility within the Erasmus+ program, i.e. useful information on how to act before, during and after mobility to make it as green as possible, read here. here.

Financial resources for the implementation of the Erasmus+ program are provided by the national Agency for Mobility and Programs of the European Union, i.e. the European Commission. 

Students cannot receive financial support under the Erasmus+ program if their stay abroad will be financed in parallel from one of the European Community funding programs. 

Students can decide to go on an Erasmus+ exchange at their own expense or without financial support (so-called zero-grant). Zero-grant students have all the same rights and obligations as those students who have been granted financial support.

Online Linguistic Support (OLS) is designed to help participants of the Erasmus+ program and the European Solidarity Corps to improve their knowledge of the language in which they will work, study or volunteer abroad and thus gain the best possible experience. Since the lack of language skills is one of the main obstacles to participation in mobility in the field of education, training and youth, OLS offers a flexible and simple approach to language support. The test is online and is taken via the Erasmus+ Online Linguistic Support (OLS) online platform. A language assessment and a language course are possible. More information and instructions for students are available here. 

The new Erasmus+ App is a mobile application for participants of the Erasmus+ program that will put the entire mobility experience at the fingertips of young people. The goal of the project is to make mobility simple, accessible and within reach of every user, while promoting innovation and digitization in the long run.

Erasmus+ pays special attention to guidance, acceptance, physical accessibility, pedagogical and technical support, and especially financing additional costs for students whose physical, mental or health circumstances are such that their participation in the program would not be possible without additional financial support. Students with special needs have the right to an increased amount of financial support due to possible increased costs when realizing mobility.

In order to apply for Erasmus+ additional financial support for special needs, in the preparatory phase of your Erasmus+ mobility you should specify your needs and anticipate additional costs related to your specific physical, mental or health circumstances. Depending on individual needs, items that are formally eligible for additional financial support during Erasmus+ mobility include, among others, e.g. adapted accommodation (cost difference compared to regular accommodation), travel assistance, medical care, additional equipment, adapted teaching material, person accompanied, etc. Useful to read: information about the accessibility of higher education institutions and their services for students with special needs on Inclusive Mobility.

Students with fewer opportunities are considered to be:

  • students of lower socioeconomic status - students whose average monthly income per member of a joint household does not exceed a certain percentage of the budget base, which is determined each year by the appropriate regulation 
  • students who have the status of refugee, asylum seeker or migrant
  • other underrepresented or vulnerable groups of students in accordance with the National Plan for the Improvement of the Social Dimension of Higher Education in the Republic of Croatia 2019 - 2021 (categories are specified in each competition).

From the 2021 call onward, students with fewer opportunities selected for a study stay are entitled to additional financial support in the amount of €250 per month if they meet the criteria for formal eligibility.

Candidates for traineeship apply to the call announced by the University of Zagreb. As a rule, the call is announced twice a year: the 1st round in May/June, for the following academic year (for the planned mobilities from the late summer/autumn of the same calendar year), and the 2nd round in November (for the planned mobilities from the winter of the following calendar year).

Before applying for the call, students find an institution/company where they will do their professional practice either by themselves or in agreement with the ECTS coordinator/mentor at the academy. Professional practice should be related to studies at the home academy.

The basic criteria for selecting a student are a letter of motivation, the student's planned activities, expected results, and the compatibility of the planned traineeship with the study program. The ECTS coordinator of the academy approves the student's application and his choice of traineeship with his signature. The basic principle of awarding financial support is according to the order in which applications are received ("first come first served"). In case of simultaneous receipt of multiple applications, the Decision on awarding financial support is made by the Committee for the Selection of Mobility Students of the University of Zagreb.