INTERNATIONAL CREDIT MOBILITY (ICM) 2017 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS JANUARY 2017 Contact: Catriona Hanks, Outward Mobility Policy Researcher catriona.hanks@international.ac.uk Audience: Pro-Vice-Chancellors Research, Teaching and International/Europe; Directors of International/Europe; Europe Network; Outward Mobility Network Action: Institutions are asked to note that, unlike 2015 and 2016, there will only be one call for applications in 2017. The one application deadline for International Credit Mobility in 2017 is 11am (UK time) 2 February 2017.
OVERVIEW Erasmus+ offers a variety of possibilities to collaborate with institutions outside the EU, including through the increasingly popular Key Action 1 activity: International Credit Mobility. Since 2015 this funding stream has enabled students, doctoral candidates and staff from UK Institutions to study or train abroad at institutions in Erasmus+ partner countries. While there were two application rounds for ICM in 2015 and 2016, there will be only one call for applications in 2017, regardless of budget take-up. Three new countries have been added to the list of eligible partner countries for this call: Iran, Iraq and Yemen. This Information Note provides further information on the opportunities available for UK institutions in 2017. 2
INTRODUCTION The European Commission s new programme for education, training, youth and sport Erasmus+, was introduced on 1 January 2014. With a budget of 14.7 billion for the period 2014-2020, Erasmus+ brings all EU programmes for education, training, youth and sport together under one umbrella. In recognition of the importance of internationalisation, the Erasmus+ programme provides more opportunities than ever before to engage with Partner countries 1. This comes in the wider context of the European Commission s Supporting Growth and Jobs An Agenda for the Modernisation of Europe s Higher Education Systems 2 and the European Higher Education in the World 3 Communication, which position internationalisation as central to the continued success and competitiveness of Europe s higher education systems. The table below provides an overview of how the international dimension applies to each of the programme strands: Table 1: Overview of international opportunities in each programme strand Erasmus+ Action KA 1 HE Student Mobility KA 1 HE Staff Mobility KA 1 Joint Masters Degrees KA 2 Strategic Partnerships KA 2 Knowledge Alliances KA 2 Sector Skills Alliances KA 2 Capacity Building International HE International dimension (i.e. cooperation with organisations from non-programme countries as set out in footnote) Organisations from Partner countries can participate as partners where they bring essential added value Organisations from Partner countries can participate as partners where they bring essential added value Organisations from Partner countries can participate as partners where they bring essential added value The European Commission 2017 Work Programme which details these opportunities and the associated deadlines is available here: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/more_info/awp/docs/c-2016-5571_en.pdf Notes 1 Erasmus+ Programme countries are: Member States of the EU; former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Iceland; Liechtenstein; Norway; Turkey. Please note that Switzerland is no longer a Programme country. Erasmus+ Partner countries neighbouring the EU are the Eastern partnership countries : Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine; the Southern Mediterranean countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia; the Western Balkans : Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia; and Other : Russian Federation Other Erasmus+ Partner countries are: almost every other country in the world except, for example the Gulf Cooperation Countries (Bahrain; Oman; Qatar; Kuwait; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates) and other states such as North Korea, Somalia etc. 2 http://ec.europa.eu/education/library/policy/modernisation_en.pdf 3 http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/international-cooperation/world-education_en.htm 3
KEY ACTION 1: HIGHER EDUCATION STAFF AND STUDENT INTERNATIONAL CREDIT MOBILITY Since 2015 Erasmus+ has been supporting the mobility of learners and staff to and from Partner countries, through International Credit Mobility (ICM). Funding for this activity will cover an estimated 200,000 student and staff exchanges between 2015 and 2020. For results from the two rounds held in 2016, please see the Erasmus+ UK National Agency 4 website here: https:// www.erasmusplus.org.uk/funding-results Following the UK round 1 2016 call for ICM, there was still budget available for under-subscribed regions and so the European Commission and the UK National Agency approved a second call for applications. However, in 2017 there will be only one call for applications. Please note that the 2017 application e-form is now available to download from the UK National Agency s website at the link below, alongside recorded application support webinars, and updated guidance notes to help in completing the application: www. erasmusplus.org.uk/icm. BUDGET The total budget for the UK for ICM activities in the 2017 call for applications is 11,600,000. In the 2017 call for ICM, as in the 2016 round 1 call, there are five separate funding strands, called instruments which will provide the available budget. These are: European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA) Partnership Instrument (PI) European Development Fund (EDF) Within these five funding categories there are 13 separate budget envelopes which cover most, but not all, regions of the world (see Table 2). In 2017, for the first time a small amount of funding is available for mobility to and from Iran, Iraq and Yemen, under the DCI Middle East budget envelope, with the exception of institutions which remain subject to EU sanctions 5. No credit mobility funding is available for: the Gulf Cooperation Countries (Bahrain, Oman, Quatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates). institutions excluded because of the EU s policy of non-recognition towards the annexation of Crimea 6. 4 Notes 4 The Erasmus+ UK National Agency is a partnership between the British Council and Ecorys UK. 5 The institutions which remain subject to EU sanctions are: Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran; Sharif University of Technology, Tehran and Malek Ashtar University of Technology, Tehran. 6 The institutions which cannot participate in any aspect of the Erasmus+ programme as a result of the EU policy of non-recognition towards the annexation of Crimea are: Crimean Engineering and Pedagogical University, Simferopol; Crimean Institute of Business, Simferopol; Crimean Institute of Economics and Economic Law, Simferopol; Crimean State Medical S.I. Georgievskyi University, Simferopol; Crimean University for the Humanities, Yalta; Crimean University of Culture, Arts and Tourism, Simferopol; Kerch State Marine Technological University, Kerch; National Academy of Nature Protection and Resort Development, Simferopol; Sevastopol Institute of Banking, Ukrainian Academy of Banking of National Bank of Ukraine, Sevastopol; Sevastopol Military and Marine P.S. Nachymov Institute, Sevastopol; Sevastopol Municipal Humanitarian University, Sevastopol; Sevastopol National Technical University, Sevastopol; Sevastopol National University Of Nuclear Energy And Industry, Sevastopol; Simferopol Economic and Humanitarian Institute, Simferopol; Taurida Humanities and Ecologic Institute, Simferopol; Ukrainian Maritime Institute, Sevastopol University of Economy and Management, Sevastopol; Yalta University of Management, Yalta. Taurida National V.I. Vernadskyi University was relocated to Kyiv and registered as a new legal entity (PIC 915889036); this university is now eligible to participate in Erasmus+ and has been removed from the list of ineligible institutions.
Table 2: Envelopes, budgets and rules for ICM 2017 Instrument Envelopes Budget Rules ENI Region East Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Territory of Ukraine as recognised by international law 1,679,618 No rule for incoming vs outgoing mobility ENI Region South Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco 2,223,720 Palestine, Syria, Tunisia ENI Russia Territory of Russia as recognised by international law 1,053,598 IPA Western Balkans Partnership Instrument (PI) Industrialised Americas Partnership Instrument (PI) Industrialised Asia DCI Asia DCI Central Asia Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, 1,917,924 Serbia Canada, United States of America 475,872 Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, (Republic of) Korea, 504,904 Macao, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan 1,461,711 These budget envelopes are for incoming mobilities and outgoing staff mobility and student mobility at PhD 411,181 DCI South Africa South Africa 133,099 DCI Latin America Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, 475,353 Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela DCI Middle East Iran, Iraq and Yemen 202,434 European Development Fund (EDF) African, Caribbean and Pacific States Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Congo -Democratic Republic of the, Cook Islands, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia- Federated States of, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Kitts And Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent And The Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Timor Leste -Democratic Republic of, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe (cycle 3) level only, but see the EDF & DCI outgoing mobility budget below if you wish to apply for outgoing short, 1st or 2nd cycle mobility EDF & DCI Outgoing mobility (UK NA budget envelope) To EDF and DCI countries at cycles 1 and 2 (all countries in the DCI and EDF regions are eligible destinations) 628,940 This budget envelope is reserved for outgoing students enrolled in short cycle (e.g. Foundation degrees or HND courses), cycle 1 (Bachelor s) or cycle 2 (Master s) degrees. Table provided by the British Council of the UK National Agency 5
Following the UK round 1 2016 ICM, certain envelopes were oversubscribed and certain were heavily undersubscribed, leading to a second deadline for applications in that year s call. In total, 8.8 million of funding was awarded in 2016. This year, the European Commission and the UK National Agency have communicated that there is no option of a second deadline in the 2017 call, regardless of any budget which is left unutilised in the UK after the February 2017 deadline. All UK institutions, whether successful in the 2016 call or not, are encouraged to participate in the 2017 call and to access the application support offered by the UK National Agency at https://www.erasmusplus.org. uk/event/application-support-webinars Though most 2016 budget envelopes experienced strong demand in the UK with 85-98% take up, including 98% take up of the new EDF envelope covering the African Caribbean and Pacific States region, there were still a few envelopes which were underspent - see Table 3. As the European Commission will apportion future budget according to the relative take-up across countries between 2015 and 2017, it is important that UK institutions make the most of the opportunity to safeguard the UK budget in future. If budget is left following the 2017 call for applications, this risks a lower budget available to UK institutions in the future. Table 3: Budget envelopes underutilised in 2016 Budget envelope 2016 budget 2016 funding awarded Percentage allocated IPA Western Balkans 2,086,042 742,823 35% ENI Eastern Partnership 1,708,750 1,239,186 72% ENI South Mediterranean 2,261,226 1,592,001 70% Table provided by the British Council of the UK National Agency 6
STRUCTURE In the main, standard regulation applies to the management and documentation of international mobility. An institution in a Partner country can send its students and/or staff to a partner institution in a Programme country and vice versa. Students can study abroad for a minimum of three months up to a maximum of 12 months, and may benefit from an Erasmus+ grant to help with living costs. Exchanges will be based on interinstitutional partnerships, learning agreements and adherence to the principles of the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education. However, there will be a tailored inter-institutional agreement. The Programme Country host manages the funding for both outgoing and incoming activity. Institutions apply to send and/or receive students to/from Partner countries and can apply individually or within a consortium. Institutions are required to demonstrate that engagement with the country in question fits with their internationalisation strategies. They also need to have an inter-institutional partnership in place with the university in question before the mobility takes place, though this does not have to be signed at the time of application. Grant rates for incoming students to the UK are 850 per month. Grant rates for outgoing UK students are 650 regardless of destination. The grant rates for incoming and outgoing staff will be 160 per day. Travel will be covered by a one-off payment, for both students and staff, calculated on the basis of distance travelled. UK institutions are advised that the addition of traineeships to the activity will not take place until after the 2017 call for applications. Table 4: Overview of allowances for international travel, based on distance travelled Travel Distances Between 100 and 499 KM Between 500 and 1999 KM Between 2000 and 2999 KM Between 3000 and 3999 KM Between 4000 and 7999 KM Amount 180 per participant 275 per participant 360 per participant 530 per participant 820 per participant 8000 KM or more 1100 per participant 7