INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION THROUGH THE UCY PORTAL

General information on Erasmus mobility of students and new graduates for placements

The Erasmus+ traineeships (or placements) is equivalent to the Erasmus+ studies programme. Students and new graduates can be placed in companies, organizations, research centers, universities etc. in one of the European countries participating in the program to acquire work experience.

The duration of the mobility within the 2023 Call  is from 2-12 months. Short-term doctoral mobility is allowed for a shorter duration of 5-30 days.

Within the framework of the new Erasmus+ Program period 2021-2027, for the approved 2023 funding project, blended mobility is allowed, i.e. virtual mobility combined with physical mobility (minimum duration of physical mobility 2 months maximum 12 months) for specific categories of participants who belong in the category of people with fewer opportunities as this is described in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

The countries that participate in the Erasmus+ Program are the following:

  • The 27 EU member countries: Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, Netherlands, Malta, Portugal, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Sweden, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia
  • The countries of the European Economic Area: Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein
  • The candidate countries for accession: Turkey, Serbia, and North Macedonia

Plus, all other countries of the world divided into geographic regions.

What placements can offer me:

  • You can gain useful and practical experiences in your field of study
  • You can enrich your knowledge of foreign languages and travel to neighboring countries.
  • You can make new friends, live alone, and to get to know other cultures and civilizations
  • You can acquire new skills (soft skills) that you will not learn in classrooms (such as problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, quick decision-making, creative thinking, etc.)

What I need to know before applying
  • Students can participate from the first year of their studies.
  • Eligibility for new graduates: Applicants must apply for participation shortly before graduation and must complete their placement within 12 months from the time of their graduation.
  • Employment can be in companies, training centers, research centers, universities, embassies, and other organizations other than EU institutions.
  • The minimum duration of a placement is 2 months, and the maximum is 12 months. This applies to every study cycle (combined duration with Erasmus studies). In the case of virtual mobility, the duration does not count in the total of 12 months. The short-term mobility of doctoral students is from 5-30 days of physical mobility and may include an online part in addition to the days of the physical mobility.
  • If a student or new graduate  previously participated in a placement in an organization, he/she cannot participate again in the same host organization for more than 2 times.
  • If a student or new graduate previously participated in a placement in a specific organization and wishes to participate again in the same host, he/she will be approved for the minimum amount of funding, i.e. for 2 months if there is no available funding to satisfy all requests.
  • If a student or graduate has past work experience in his/her study field, he/she may not be approved for participation since the purpose of the program is to obtain a first work experience.
  • The maximum placement duration for undergraduate students is 3 months, while for postgraduate, doctoral students, and graduates, the placement can be up to 12 months if funding is available and other conditions are met. If the applications exceed the number of available places, the approved funding can be reduced to the minimum, i.e., to cover the 2 months with  the remaining months without funding (ZERO GRANT).
  • The student or graduate cannot be placed in more than one host organization during the same placement period.
  • Students/New Graduates who wish to do a placement in their country of permanent residence will have a very low priority for approval. If approved, this will be done in the last calls and as long as there are available places for funding and all requests for placement outside the country of permanent residence are satisfied.

What are the selection criteria
  • Suitability of the host organization and the relevance of the host organization and the job position with the student’s/graduate’s field of study
  • The agreement of the department in the case of master and/or doctoral students wishing to take part during the academic year.
  • The agreement of the department in the case that ECTS will be recognized or in the case of the Elective of the School of Medicine.
  • Knowledge of English or other language if the host organization is located in a non-Greek-speaking country.
  • The availability of the funding.
  • The approval of  participants from different departments even with less funding if necessary.

Call of applications

Under the new Call, applications will be submitted through the UCY PORTAL until the 6th of April 2025.

The Call applies to the following categories:

  • Undergraduate students for placements which will be realized during the period from mid-May 2025 – end of August 2025
  • Master and PhD students for placements which will be realized during the period from 5th of May 2025 – 31st of July 2025
  • Master and PhD students for placements which will be realized during the period from 1st of August 2025 – end of December 2025
  • Graduates of December 2024, for placements which will be realized during the period from 5th of May 2025 – end of November 2025
  • Expected graduates (grad. June 2025) for placements which will be realized the period as from early June 2025 – end of December 2025
  • Medical students who wish to participate in an Erasmus placement for their 2-month elective in a hospital or other clinical centers abroad for the period of 18th of August 2025 – 17th of October 2025 (60 days)
  • PhD students for placements which will be realized during the period from 5th of May 2025 – 31st of July 2025
  • Doctoral students, for short-term placements of 5-30 days that will realized the period from 5th of May 2025 – end of December 2025

How to submit your application

  • If you are students and expected graduates of June 2025

Apply through the UCY Portal for studentswww.ucy.ac.cy/mobility – select the category Create a new request for students

Make sure that you have completed both stages of the application (completion and submission) and that you have received a relevant e-mail from the system for the successful submission of your application.

  • If you are a December 2024 graduate (If you complete the application in January, you must have already logged into to UCY alumni system and received passwords to submit an application)

Connect to the link www.ucy.ac.cy/mobility_alumni (by logging in with with your e-mail) and select the category  Create a new request for alumni – Placements. Make sure that you have completed both stages of the application (completion and submission) and that you have received a relevant e-mail from the system for the successful submission of your application

Please note that you will need written approval from your host organization before you apply. Start searching.

You will need a CV, Motivation letter and a Transcript of Record.

Think of how to present yourself to the host to persuade them to select you!

For the UCY Portal user guide CLICK HERE PAGES 16-20

What forms will I need to submit my application

Before submitting your application, you must have an acceptance for the host organization you have chosen. The acceptance should mention the actual dates of the placement, the position you have been offered, the name and contact details and type of the organization. The acceptance may be in the form of a letter or an electronic message (e-mail), you will need to save it in pdf format and upload it to the portal in your application. The application should be submitted within the predetermined deadline of the current call.

The online application has 2 stages, completion and submission. Both must be completed in order for your application to be successfully submitted in the system.

Upon successful submission, you will receive a relevant email.

How can I find suitable host organization

Through websites of networks such as:

Placements in international organizations such as

United Nations (UN)

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

UNICEF

World Bank

World Health Organization

UN agencies and bodies

Internships – Placement Slovakia

 

Possible Host Organizations by country:

Austria

Belgium

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Latvia

Malta

North Macedonia

Poland

Portugal

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

The Netherlands

Turkey

United Kingdom

Information on placements for graduates in Engineering, IT and Pre-Primary Education from EURES SWEDEN

  • Companies in Sweden in various fields of Engineering – click here
  • Companies in Sweden in various fields of Information and Communication Technologies – click here
  • Placement no. 1 for pre-school teachers Sweden – click here
  • Placement no. 2 for pre-school teachers Sweden – click here
What will I need to contact organizations to secure acceptance?
  • An e-mail that will be sent to the host organizations (Click here for the Greek version or Click here for the English version) which you will use as your first contact with them
  • Your Europass CV (click here for the document template in Greek or here for the document template in English) – Create your Europass CV | Europass
  • Example of a letter of intent if requested by the organization (Motivation Letter)
  • Recent Transcript of records if requested by the host (you can ask this from the Student Affairs Service or the Graduate School)

Participation process after my approval from the University of Cyprus
  • Preparation of the official work program (Learning Agreement for Traineeships) which is agreed and signed by the three parties involved, the beneficiary, the sending organization (University of Cyprus) and the host organization.
  • Signature of the Erasmus+ Grant agreement between the beneficiary and the University of Cyprus for the funding
  • Departure for the host organization
  • Payment of the Erasmus funding to the beneficiary’s personal account in 1 or 2 or more instalments depending on the duration of the beneficiary’s placement
  • Payment to the beneficiary’s personal account of the major part of the Erasmus grant in 1 or 2 or more installments depending on the duration of the beneficiary’s placement
  • Return to Cyprus with all necessary supporting documents
  • Issue of a EUROPASS Mobility Certificate
  • Submission of the EU Survey and payment of last instalment of the funding

What funding will I  get from the Program

You are entitled to a travel allowance if you depart and return to a Cyprus airport and also a subsistence allowance depending on your destination country.

Funding under the approved 2023 Call Plan:

Travel Allowance
Accommodation – food allowance for physical mobility 2-12 months
Accommodation and food allowance for short-term mobility of doctoral students, 5-30 days

People who belong to the category of fewer opportunities are entitled to additional funding.

Information on the  assessment of knowledge of the language of communication in the host organization or the language of the host country (OLS – Online Linguistic Support)

All participants I will need to complete an online language assessment either of the language of the host country or the language of communication at the host organization an OLS online tool (OLS assessment) located on the EU Academy.

Participants going to organizations in Greece are excluded from the evaluation.

Participants also have the possibility to follow language courses online (OLS Courses).

The tool is offered in all official languages: English, Bulgarian, French, German, Danish, Greek, Estonian, Irish (Gaelic), Spanish, Italian, Croatian, Latvian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Swedish, Czech and Finnish.

By taking a language assessment through OLS before going abroad, Erasmus+ participants can establish their level of knowledge in the language in which they will study, work or volunteer. This ensures that the participants have the language level required by the host institution. The results of the language assessment do not exclude the possibility of participating in Erasmus+.

Participants who wish to improve their level of language skills have the possibility to attend online language courses before and during their stay abroad. These courses include a wide variety of activities with “live guidance”, such as videos, podcasts, webinars, etc.

Upon their return, participants may take a final assessment, which allows them to assess the progress they have made during their time abroad.

Other useful information

Where can I find accommodation options

“Erasmus Play is a housing search engine for students to find accommodation across Europe. It allows you to compare all the available accommodation quickly and easily.
Moreover, you will be able to book in total safety since all accommodations is provided by verified platforms. Book your student housing in Europe in 3 steps:
• Select your host city and dates.
• Compare all available accommodation.
• Click and book in a totally secure way. ”

Where can I find information about insurance companies that offer accident, third party and medical cover

Other useful links

Erasmus Student Network Cyprus- Nicosia, ESN Cyprus Nicosia

Foundation for the Management of European Lifelong Learning Programs

Contact info

For any other information you can contact the Mobility Office, International Relations and Development Sector of the International Relations Service at 22894283/81 and at [email protected]