Where can I go on Erasmus+ teacher exchange in Europe?
During the current Erasmus+ period which started in 2022-2023, the University of Helsinki signs new Erasmus+ teacher exchange agreements with universities in Erasmus+ programme countries based on need.
Erasmus+ programme countries include:
- EU countries
- Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, North Macedonia, Turkey and Serbia.
The International Exchange Services and Education cooperation unit of the University of Helsinki, staffexchange@helsinki.fi, signs a new Erasmus+ teacher exchange agreement for your exchange, if necessary. Agreements are signed when there’s an outgoing or incoming applicant who has received a preliminary approval from the applicant’s academic contact person at the receiving institution.
How long is teacher exchange?
Terms and conditions for teacher exchange, including the duration of the exchange and instructions on green travel and how to combine a holiday, remote working or an other work-related trip with an Erasmus+ exchange.
Before exchange
You can start planning your exchange by contacting colleagues in your own field who teach at a university which you are interested in. The exchange can be included in your annual work plan, if you start preparing well in advance.
Teaching during the teacher exchange:
- at least 4 hours of teaching if the visit also includes training, for example, development of pedagogical skills.
- at least 8 hours of teaching, if the visit only includes teaching.
When you have made preliminary plans about the visit, please contact the International Exchange Services and Education cooperation unit, staffexchange@helsinki.fi about 3 months before your visit or earlier, so that the teacher exchange agreement is valid before your exchange begins.
When you have your host institution's permission for your exchange, fill in an application in the Mobility Online application system at least two months before the exchange. You can find the detailed application form instructions in a pdf file, which you can get from staffexchange@helsinki.fi upon request.
- Your supervisor will receive an automatic e-mail from the application system, which asks for the supervisor's approval (yes/no).
- Your Mobility Online application answers will be used in the Mobility Agreement for Teaching document for your exchange. Mobility Agreement for Teaching is a compulsory attachment, which is required by the European Commission. Please sign the Mobility Agreement yourself and send it to host university for the contact person's signature. Once you get it back, the International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation unit will sign it on behalf of the University of Helsinki.
- When you have sent the signed Mobility Agreement to the International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation unit, your Erasmus+ grant will be granted by UH's International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation unit. You will receive a request to approve the terms and conditions of your exchange and the amount of the travel grant.
- When you have approved the terms and conditions as required in the Erasmus+ programme, please submit a travel request and allocate it to the International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation wbs using the code in the travel grant decision. In the travel request, estimate the overall costs of the journey (including the costs of travel, accommodation, other costs, per diem). If the estimated cost of your trip exceeds the maximum allowance granted in the travel grant decision, please submit your travel request normally and include all the obligatory costs in the same travel request using the same wbs code. The decision regarding the costs which exceed the Erasmus grant will be made based on your travel request.
- Once International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation has approved your travel request, you can make binding travel arrangements in accordance with the accepted travel funding, the University of Helsinki’s travel instructions and Erasmus+ rules and regulations.
During exchange
You will receive a Letter of Confirmation with the e-mail containing the decision on your travel grant. Save the Letter of Confirmation and take it with you when you leave for your exchange. Ask your contact person at the receiving university to sign your Letter of Confirmation at the end of the exchange period either by hand or by signing it digitally as a pdf.
After exchange
Return the signed Letter of Confirmation to the International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation unit.
Submit a travel expense report and allocate it to the wbs code of the International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation within two months of returning from the trip, preferably as soon as possible. Your travel expense report will be compared with your travel request, which includes the estimated costs. International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation will not cover expenses that exceed the maximum sum of the travel grant.
After the exchange, give feedback on the teacher exchange by filling in the European Commission's EU Survey feedback form which you will receive by e-mail. Your feedback will be seen by the European Commission, the Erasmus+ National Agency in Finland and the International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation. Answering the feedback survey is a prerequisite for accepting your travel expense report.
Don’t forget to record your exchange trip in the Research Portal of the University of Helsinki.
We hope that you can make the most of your exchange experience in different contexts. Your own unit is interested in hearing about your experiences. The International Exchange Services and Education Cooperation unit is also interested in your exchange experiences and will be glad to invite exchange participants to share their exchange experiences at various events.