Teaching and staff exchange outside of Europe have been a part of Erasmus+ since 2015. This part of the Erasmus+ programme is called International Credit Mobility and is in some respects different from the Erasmus+ programme within Europe. Staff can apply for grants for staff and student exchanges. While students cannot apply for these grants themselves staff are able to apply for grants covering both student exchanges and traineeships for students. All universities in Iceland can apply for the grants and they compete for the available funds. The International Division at UI is responsible for collecting applications and submitting them. For further information please contact Nanna Teitsdóttir at the International Division, erasmus.international@hi.is Presentation slides for Erasmus+ ICM Countries and amount of grants Countries outside of Europe are divided into specific areas, called envelopes, with a fixed amount reserved for each. The amounts can significantly vary between areas of the world. See here for division of countries into areas and available funds for each area Application Applications are submitted annually. Those interested are encouraged to contact the International Division to receive further information on the application and the application process. It is recommended that applicants read the Erasmus+ ICM handbook. All applications are sent to the International Division which is responsible for submitting one complete application for the University of Iceland. Allocation of Grants The collection of applications is sent from the International Division to the Erasmus+ National Agency in Iceland. Each application within the collection is evaluated and then a decision is made whether it receives a grant. The International Division will contact the applicants once notified about the results. To-do list for grantees Inter-Institutional Agreement After an application has been allocated a grant then an Erasmus+ agreement must be signed with the partner institution abroad. A signed Erasmus+ Inter-Institutional Agreement is required before the grants can be utilised. Please note that many institutions outside Europe may need some time to review and sign such agreements. The International Division is responsible for the Inter-Institutional Agreements and will send the agreement to the partner institution. However, applicants must list the contact persons at the institutions abroad in the application. Mobility Agreements and Flight Tickets The grantee sends a copy of the flight tickets to the Erasmus+ coordinator at the International Division. It is worth noting that the travel grant is a fixed sum based on the destination. Therefore, it may be economical to arrange for flights well in advance. Before the grant amount is calculated, the grantee must submit a fully signed teaching or training mobility agreement for staff or a learning or traineeship agreement for students. If details of the intended stay need to be changed then it may be necessary to prepare a new agreement and have that signed by all parties. For staff the agreement must clearly state how many days (travel days not included) are to be spent at the receiving institution with a description of activities for each day. The subsistence grant is calculated per day with the addition of one or two travel days, as applicable. The minimum stay is 5 days of visit at the receiving institution, travel days not included. Students submit a learning agreement that is signed by the student’s faculty or school as well as the receiving institution. The subsistence grant is calculated per day but is based on a monthly amount. The minimum stay for exchange studies is 3 months but for a traineeship stay it is 2 months. The granted stay cannot exceed 12 months. Scanned agreements are accepted. Mobility agreement for staff – Teaching Mobility agreement for staff – Training/visitLearning agreement for students – Exchange studiesLearning agreement for students – traineeship Erasmus+ Grant Agreement The grant agreement is prepared once a fully signed mobility/learning agreement along with copies of airline tickets have been submitted to the International Division. The grant agreement is prepared in two original copies that are signed by the grantee and the project manager at the International Division at UI. The agreement must contain a kennitala (if relevant), address, phone number and bank account information for the grant transfer. The grant agreement also contains the grant amount and the dates of the stay abroad. Be sure to keep the agreement; it is good to have it on hand when preparing the final report and for your annual tax return. Confirmation of Stay The grant recipient takes the form Confirmation of stay with him/her to be signed by the receiving institution upon the completion of the stay abroad. The form is then submitted to the International Division. The form must include the name of the grant recipient, dates of visit or study period and needs to be signed and stamped by the receiving institution. A scanned copy of the form is accepted. Confirmation of stay for staffConfirmation of study period for students Final Report Following the stay abroad, the grant recipient receives an Erasmus+ final report form by email. The final report should be submitted no later than one week after the stay is complete. Tax Return The grant is disclosed on the grant recipient's tax return in Iceland, but costs can be offset so no tax is collected for the grant. It is advisable to keep all receipts. Other grants for outside Europe Carol Pazandak Iceland-Minnesota Travel Fund facebooklinkedintwitter