ERASMUS Work Programme - What is it?
ERASMUS is the Higher Education section of the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP; see http://www.lifelonglearningprogramme.org.uk), which aims to promote staff and student mobility within the European Community and encourage cooperation between higher education institutions and other organisations.
The University of Leeds is a participant in this scheme and so can administer mobility grants to students who wish to work or study in relevant countries, with the support of the Commission of the European Communities, within the framework of the LLP ERASMUS programme.
The British Council acts as the administrative National Agency for the ERASMUS scheme in the UK. Go to http://www.britishcouncil.org/erasmus.htm to view the website and, in particular, their Operational Handbook 2011-2012, which contains the Rules and Regulations of the scheme.
Under the ERASMUS scheme, students can either undertake Study or Work Placements in any of the member states of the EU. This webpage refers to the Work Placement aspect of ERASMUS, which is administered by the University of Leeds Careers Centre. For a general overview of the Work Placements Scheme, please view the British Council’s Work Placements Guide.
If you are interested in studying in Europe under the ERASMUS scheme, please refer to the Study Abroad Office website.
Deadlines for Application
If you are undertaking a work placement in the academic year 2011/2012, the Erasmus Work grant will be awarded for placements taking place during the period 1st June 2011 and 30th October 2012. The deadline for applying for the Erasmus Work grant for the academic year 2011/2012 will be 16th December 2011; to be sure of also securing the Erasmus Fee Waiver, applications should reach the Careers Centre by 18th November 2011.
If you are intending to do a work placement in the academic year 2012/2013, the Erasmus Work grant will be awarded for placements taking place during the period 1st June 2012 and 30th October 2013 (subject to confirmation). The deadline for applying for the Erasmus Work grant for the academic year 2012/2013 will be 14th December 2012; to be sure of also securing the Erasmus Fee Waiver, applications should reach the Careers Centre by 16th November 2012.
The Erasmus Work placement grant is allocated on a FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED basis! We are allotted a certain number of grants for 2011/12 and once these have all been allocated to students, any further applications will be unsuccessful, regardless of the deadline above. So, keep an eye on the deadline, BUT get your application in early!
If the way your course is administered means that you go abroad later in the academic year, you will still need to plan ahead and apply for the Erasmus grant as early as you can, to be sure of qualifying, so get your placements organised EARLY and apply to the Careers Centre for the grant!
This scheme is aimed mostly at undergraduates, but postgraduate students can also benefit. Whilst postgraduates ARE eligible to be considered for ERASMUS funding, a parallel scheme (LEONARDO), which funds placements between 1-39 weeks, may be more suitable. The Leonardo scheme is administered by ECOTEC Research & Consulting Ltd, please view the Leonardo website for further information. In addition, you can find Leonardo opportunities by looking at websites such as the European Training Services or by consulting the Leonardo Mobility Project directory.
International Students
Recently, the European Commission extended the scheme to include any international student, registered on a regular course at the University of Leeds. All the usual conditions (detailed in the following pages) apply. International students will not, however, qualify for the Tuition Fee Waiver part of the scheme.
NEW FOR 2011/12
The British Council is introducing extra payments to encourage participation in the scheme:
- an extra one-off payment of €500 will be made to students who receive the Leeds Bursary
- a one-off payment of €400 will be made to students who undertake a work placement in one of the following countries:
| Bulgaria | Greece | Poland | |
| Croatia | Hungary | Romania | |
| Cyprus | Latvia | Slovakia | |
| Czech Republic | Lithuania | Slovenia | |
| Estonia | Malta | Turkey |