- General information on the Mobility of Erasmus students and new graduates for placements
- What I need to know before applying
- What are the selection criteria?
- Calls for application
- How do I find suitable host organizations?
- What is the procedure I need to follow after my approval by the University of Cyprus
- What funding will I receive from the Program?
- Information for the language assessment, the communication language or the language of the host country (OLS – Online Language Support)
- Other useful information
- Where can I find accommodation options?
- Where can I find information about insurance companies that offer accident, third – party, and medical cover?
- Other useful links
- Contact info
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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 2022 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 2022 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
After BREXIT, some mobilities to the UK are allowed subject to conditions as the UK is considered as a third country. Mobilities towards third countries are aloo allowed subject to conditions.
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 31st January 2024.
The Call applies to the following categories:
- Master and PhD students, for placements that will be realized during the period from 26 February 2024 – July 2024 and August – December 2024
- Expected graduates (grad. December 2023) for placements which will be realized the period as from 26 February 2024 – July 2024 and August 2024 – October 2024
- Graduates of June 2023 (exceptionally), for placements which will be realized during the period from 26 February 2024 – May 2024
- Undergraduate students for placements which will be realized during the period June 2024-July 2024 and June 2024-August 2024
- Medical students who wish to participate in an Erasmus placement for their 2-month elective in a hospital or other clinical centres abroad for the period August 2024 – October 2024
Apply through the UCY Portal for students www.ucy.ac.cy/mobility – select the category Create a new request for students
Apply through the UCY Portal for June 2023 graduates www.ucy.ac.cy/mobility_alumni – select the category Create new request alumni for placements (applies only to people who graduated in June 2023 and registered in the alumni platform and obtain access codes)
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 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:
https://erasmusintern.org/traineeships
https://ec.europa.eu/eures/portal/jv-se
Sign Up Candidate (interrex.lt)
- From personal contacts with organizations
- From UCY academics who have links with companies, universities or other relevant organizations
- Communicating with universities, laboratories, organizations etc.
- From various offers that come to the Mobility Office
- From former students who participated
- Through the EURES Network (click on the ‘Find a job’ button, and type ‘Traineeship’ into the box labelled ‘Keywords)
- Placements in international organizations such as
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
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)
- Your Europass CV (click here for the document template in Greek or here for the document template in English)
- 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
- Signing of a Financial 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
- Return to Cyprus with all necessary supporting documents
- Issue of a EUROPASS Mobility Certificate
- Submission of the EU Survey and payment of 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 2022 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 |
- People who wish to carry out their placement in their country of permanent residence
- Participants of people with disabilities
- Participants of people with fewer opportunities and additional support for people with disabilities
Where can I find accommodation options |
- Contact the Erasmus Student Network
- Uniplaces
- Housing anywhere
- Erasmusplay
“Erasmus Play is a housing search engine for students to find accommodation across Europe. It allows you to compare all the available accommodations quickly and easily.
Moreover, you will be able to book in total safety since all accommodations are provided by verified platforms. Book your student housing in Europe in 3 steps:
• Select your host city and dates.
• Compare all available accommodations.
• Click and book in a 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
FoundationfortheManagementofEuropeanLifelong 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]