ERASMUS Teaching Staff Mobility
Please note the current guidelines of the University of Mannheim regarding the Covid-19 pandemic!
The Erasmus program enables researchers and teachers as well as other academic and non-academic staff members of the University of Mannheim to spend time abroad in one of the program countries in Europe. The International Office will be happy to advise you.
Both training events and teaching placements are eligible for funding, as well as combinations of teaching and training. Generally, teaching placements are rather short stays comprising only a few days; however, longer mobility periods of up to 60 days are possible.
During a teaching placement abroad, the participants do not only gain experience in teaching at a European partner university but also have the opportunity to exchange and share knowledge in the fields of teaching and research. The development of joint study programs and the exchange of teaching contents and methods can also play an important role.
The Erasmus teaching placements are part of the internationalization strategy of the University of Mannheim and are designed to advance mobility and international exchange in teaching and research. All interested staff members are explicitly invited to inform themselves and apply.
If you are interested in the reports of previous teachers from German universities describing their experiences abroad with an Erasmus teaching placement, please download the following brochure. You can find further information about the ERASMUS program on the website of the Nationale Agentur für EU-Hochschulzusammenarbeit of the DAAD.
What is funded?
- Teaching staff mobility in Europe or combinations of teaching and training mobilities
- Duration: from two to 60 days (plus the days of arrival and/
or departure) - At least eight hours of teaching per stay and per week are required for teaching mobilities and have to be certified by the host institution.
- If teaching and training is combined, the minimum teaching load is reduced to four hours. Goals of these combined mobilities can be knowledge exchange, for example to improve teaching quality, to develop innovative teaching methods and curricula, or to hone pedagogical skills.
- Employees of European companies and organizations who are invited to the University of Mannheim to hold guest lectures for students are also eligible for funding (even for a single guest lecture). This possibility does not apply for staff working at institutions of the European Union or at institutions governing EU programs.
As a rule, the funding period is limited to a maximum of two weeks. Provided that sufficient resources are available, funding may be extended to a maximum of 60 days. Performing teaching work to the extent of eight hours per stay and per week is mandatory (four hours for combined stays). For each additional day exceeding a week (seven days) the minimum number of hours will be calculated proportionately.
Host universities and countries
All European higher education institutions participating in the Erasmus program are eligible as host universities. For the teaching placement, a simple contract will be concluded between the University of Mannheim and the respective university abroad. Please do not hesitate to contact the International Office if you have any questions.
At present, all 28 EU member states as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey, and North Macedonia participate in the program. The database of partner universities gives an overview of those European universities that have already concluded an exchange agreement with the University of Mannheim. Yet, stays abroad in countries participating in the ERASMUS program can also be funded if you decide to go to an institution other than the partner universities; this applies, in particular, for staff members going abroad with ERASMUS.
Though, at present, Switzerland does not take part in the ERASMUS program, funding terms for stays abroad in Switzerland are similar to the ERASMUS exchange program as the country finances a similar program with national funds (SEMP program).
Current Information on exchange programs with the United Kingdom (as of January 2022):
Although the UK has left the EU and will no longer participate in the next ERASMUS program, we will be able to continue funding exchanges with universities in the UK in the academic year 2021/
22 and 2022/ 23 with the ERASMUS program. Unfortunately, the Erasmus scholarship rate does not increase and remains at the level of the 2021/ 22 academic year, as the UK is no longer participating in the new generation of Erasmus programs. Unfortunately, the type of funding that will be possible from the academic year 2023/
24 onwards has not yet been determined. Financial benefits
Funding comprises a travel and a subsistence allowance, which is calculated depending on the distance and the country.
Subsistence costs
In addition to the actual days of activity, up to two days for arrival and/
or departure may be funded like days of activity. The following daily allowance rates apply for three groups of countries. Up to the 14th day of activity, the full rate will be paid; between the 15th and 60th day of activity, the grant will be 70% of the full daily rate.
Country group 1 (EUR 180 per day of activity):
Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom
Country group 2 (EUR 160 per day of activity):
Belgium, Germany (for incoming staff mobility participants), France, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus
Country group 3 (EUR 140 per day of activity):
Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Hungary
Travel expenses
The above-listed daily rates are complemented by a contribution to travel expenses. These are calculated based on the distance between the place of origin and the venue of the activity, using the distance calculator provided by the European Commission.
A contribution to travel expenses is granted in form of a fixed allowance based on the calculated distance:
Kilometer
(one way)
Travel allowance
< 10 km
No allowance
10 km – 99 km
EUR 20
100 km – 499 km
EUR 180
500 km – 1.999 km
EUR 275
2.000 km – 2.999 km
EUR 360
3.000 km – 3.999 km
EUR 530
4.000 km – 7.999 km
EUR 820
8.000 km and more
EUR 1,500
The Erasmus grant can be used to cover any costs that may occur in relation to your trip, including possible participation fees.
In case you have to expect the Erasmus grant to not cover all your travel expenses, you can ask your superior to add another account unit to cover the remaining expenses. Any costs exceeding the above-mentioned allowance cannot be financed from Erasmus funds.
Additional funding for staff members with disabilities
You can apply for additional funding due to a degree of disability of at least at 50 % or more. To that end, the University of Mannheim must submit the respective application to the DAAD at least two months prior to your envisaged mobility period. The purpose of this additional funding is to cover the additional costs arising during the mobility period provided that no other institution (e.g. health insurance provider or social security office) will bear the costs. If you want to apply for additional funding, please contact the International Office as early as possible.
Who can apply for funding?
As a basic prerequisite for participating in the program, applicants must be teaching at the University of Mannheim. The following groups of persons fit this criterion:
- teaching staff employed at the University of Mannheim
- doctoral candidates who are employed at the University of Mannheim and/
or are teaching at the university - academic staff members
- adjunct lecturers
- professors emeriti and retired teaching staff who continue to be involved in teaching at the University of Mannheim
Employees of European companies and organizations who are invited to the University of Mannheim to hold guest lectures for students are also eligible for funding (funding line incoming company staff ). Even a single guest lecture may be funded. External doctoral candidates who are employed at a foreign enterprise may be funded in the same way. However, provided that the guest lecturer has German citizenship, his or her main residence must be abroad.
Repeated funding is possible, however, priority is given to applicants who have not yet participated in the ERASMUS staff mobility.
Applying
Applications may be submitted at any time. If you are planning to take part in teaching staff mobility, we recommend contacting the International Office as soon as possible in order to ascertain whether funds are available.
Please submit the application form via e-mail to Ms Bach. Please remember to attach the invitation from your host institution (an informal e-mail is sufficient).
After submitting your application, you will be informed as soon as possible whether and to what extent your teaching placement will be funded.
Next steps and things to do
In the following, we are going to comment on any formalities to be dealt with following the reception of the Official Grant Award Notification.
Official Grant Award Notification and Business Travel Authorization Form
- The International Office will send you the Official Grant Award Notification as an e-mail attachment. Please print this notification and enclose it with your business travel authorization form.
- The Official Grant Award Notification also contains the name of the PSP element and fund that has to be entered in section „II. Endorsement” of your business travel authorization form in the field for reimbursements.
- In case you want to apply for any other funding, please indicate another PSP element in your business travel authorization form.
- Please have the business travel authorization form approved by your department and send it together with a hard copy printout of your Official Grant Award Notification to Nicolas Lahuerta at the travel expenses office in Division V. Don’t forget the A1 form.
- Attached to the Official Grant Award Notification you will receive the „Attachment to the Official Grant Award Notification“, which is used for conveying your bank data to the travel expenses office. The Erasmus grant will be transferred directly to your bank account. For this reason, please do not book your train and/
or airplane tickets via the contract travel agency DER but book any tickets and accommodation by yourself.
As soon as your business travel authorization form has been approved, i.e. before your departure, the travel expenses office will automatically transfer the first installment (80 percent of the total grant) to your private bank account.
Before your mobility period: Erasmus Grant Agreement, Mobility Agreement, and insurance
- Before your departure, the International Office will send you your individual Erasmus Grant Agreement via e-mail. This contract governs the conditions of the Erasmus grant. Please sign it in the original and send it back to the International Office. Unfortunately, we cannot accept scanned copies.
- In addition, the so-called Mobility Agreement must be completed. This agreement contains the content and objectives of your mobility period and must be submitted to the International Office before your departure. Please fill in the form, sign it and then send it to the competent contact person at your host university to have it signed by them. All signatures must have been obtained before your departure (the signature date is important). The International Office will sign the agreement on behalf of the University of Mannheim.
Please make sure that your insurance coverage will suffice for the duration of your mobility period.The Erasmus mobility grant does not include insurance coverage. Neither the University of Mannheim nor the European Commission nor the National Agency for Erasmus of the DAAD are liable for damages caused by illness, death, accident or injury of a person and the loss or damage of belongings during the course of stays abroad through the Erasmus program (studies, internships, teaching staff mobility, or training events). Every scholarship holder is responsible for arranging for his or her own insurance coverage.
The participant's national health insurance usually covers basic insurance needs during stays in EU countries by means of the European Health Insurance Card. However, insurance coverage of the European Health Insurance Card may not be sufficient, especially in case of complex medical needs or medical repatriation. The University of Mannheim therefore strongly recommends taking out additional private insurance. Participants have the option to take part in the group insurance offered by the DAAD to all students and researchers who are funded as part of the ERASMUS program.
If you are not employed at the University of Mannheim, please fill in the following insurance declaration and submit it to the International Office (a scanned copy is sufficient).
During your mobility period: receipts and Certificate of Attendance
- During your mobility period, please keep any receipts of accommodation and traveling expenses to be submitted following your return to Germany together with your business travel expense report.
- On the last day of your mobility period, please have your host university confirm your stay with the Certificate of Attendance. Please ensure that all fields have been completed and that the document is signed only at the end of your mobility period (the signature date is important).
After your mobility period: Certificate of Attendance, Business Travel Expense Report, and Erasmus+ Individual Participant Report (online survey)
- After you have returned to Germany, please submit the Certificate of Attendanceto the International Office.
- As soon as you have returned to Germany, please fill in the business travel expense report and submit it to the travel expenses office in Division V including all receipts. Program participants who are not employed at the University of Mannheim are exempt from the obligation to submit a business travel expense report.
- As soon as the Certificate of Attendance and the business travel expense report have been received, the second installment of your Erasmus grant (20 percent) will be transferred to your bank account.
- Following your mobility period, you will receive an e-mail including the request to complete an online survey, the so-called Erasmus+ Individual Participant Report. This report is mandatory.
You will receive an automatically generated e-mail carrying the subject line „Erasmus+ Individual Participant Report Request“ from the following address: replies-will-be-discardedec.europa.eu. If necessary, please check whether the e-mail message has been moved to your spam folder. Please open the link to your Erasmus+ Individual Participant Report and answer the survey within 3 weeks following your return to Germany.
