ERASMUS Training 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 teaching placements and training events are eligible for funding. As a rule, training placements last from two to five days. Within the context of the university’s internationalization strategy, the University of Mannheim strives to permit as many academic and non-academic staff members as possible to participate in the Erasmus program and to take part in training placement abroad. All interested staff members are explicitly invited to inform themselves and apply.

  • What is funded?

    • Training placements at European higher education institutions, companies, and other institutions
    • Duration: from 2 to 60 days (plus the days of arrival and/or departure, if applicable)
    • Financial support is usually limited to a maximum of one week and is depending on the availability of funds.

    There are different forms of training placements abroad:

    • stays at European universities, companies or other institutions that have a training character in the sense of the objectives mentioned below.
    • organizing an individual training placement at a European higher education institution, company, or other institution on your own
    • On a limited basis, funding is available for language courses. Within the scope of our internationalization strategy, such a language course should contribute to the expansion of the bilingual campus. Moreover, expanding your language skills should be necessary for your job. The human resources division will evaluate each application individually.

    The International Office will be happy to advise you on your options. You can find further information on the ERASMUS program on the website of the Nationale Agentur für EU-Hochschulzusammenarbeit of the DAAD.

  • Goals of staff mobility

    • Supporting the international mobility of students, teaching staff and administrative staff by raising intercultural awareness;
    • Acquiring knowledge and practical skills beneficial to the current job and professional career;
    • Exchanging experiences and tried and tested processes at an international level;
    • Gaining an outside perspective on ones work and the home institution;
    • Promoting international cooperation of higher education institutions or higher education institutions and companies;
    •  Further development of the bilingual campus.

    Mobility activities primarily focusing on research purposes are not eligible for funding.

  • Host countries

    All European higher education institutions participating in the Erasmus program are eligible as host universities, as well as other organisations. 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 Erasmus funding for exchange programs with the United Kingdom:

    Exchanges with universities in the United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) will be financially supported from the academic year 23/24 in the new Erasmus program line called 'International Dimension' with the same scholarship rates (country group 1) and the new additional grants of the regular ERASMUS program.

    When applying for an exchange place in the UK, however, you must select 'Sonderprogramm' as the program in the database of partner universities and not Erasmus. You will then automatically receive all information about the Erasmus funding from the International Office.

  • 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

    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?

    All academic and non-academic staff members of the University of Mannheim – from trainees to the President – can apply for participation in the program. 

    The Erasmus training placements are part of the internationalization strategy of the University of Mannheim and are designed to advance mobility and international exchange in teaching, research, and administration. All interested staff members at the schools, divisions, and departments as well as in administrative units, at the libraries, and at the University IT are invited to inform themselves and apply for a training placement.

  • Applying

    You can submit your application via e-mail; it must contain

    • the application form
    • and a letter of motivation.

    In your letter of motivation, please comment on the following issues:

    • Your division/department and area of responsibility at the University of Mannheim
    • Description of the project and explanation why you are interested in participating in the respective training event. Please elaborate on the benefits of the training for your area of responsibility (and possibly for the University of Mannheim).
    • Confirmation stating that the mobility has been approved by your superior

    Applications can be submitted at any time. Approval of funding is subject to the aforementioned criteria and the availability of funds. Repeated funding is possible, however, priority is given to applicants who did not yet participate in the ERASMUS staff mobility program. An admissions committee of Division II and the Human Resources Division are in charge of the selection process.

    After submitting your application you will be informed as soon as possible whether and to what extent your mobility activity will be funded.

Our primary goal is to provide modern and high-quality services as well as the corresponding support for our customers and users, i.e. for students, researchers and teachers. The professional and organizational exchange of ideas on IT support and e-learning issues during my Staff Mobility showed me new interesting ways to achieve this goal. At the same time, I had the possibility to find out how we are positioned in these areas compared to other universities. In my opinion, all employees of the university can benefit from such a change of perspective and scenery. Not least, the Erasmus stay gave me the opportunity to improve my Spanish language skills on site. I can highly recommend taking part in the Erasmus program as it helped me to develop both professionally and personally.

Sophia Kuß, IT Service Management & Security, University IT, University of Málaga (Spain) / Credit: Ye Fung Tchen

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 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-discardedmail-ec.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.

Advice on staff mobility and applying:

Gela Wittenberg

Gela Wittenberg (she/her)

Study Abroad Advisor
Working from home every Wednesday and Friday; available only via E-Mail on these days.
University of Mannheim
Division II – Student Affairs
International Office
L 1, 1 – Room 160
68161 Mannheim