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Erasmus Traineeship

Updated: 1 June 2022


  1. Qualification terms for the Erasmus programme
  2. Selecting a university, setting up the traineeship, and selection procedure
  3. Administrative work for traineeships
  4. EU Academy language test (OLS)
  5. Acceptance by the workplace abroad
  6. Decision of the dean on awarding a special-purpose scholarship
  7. Requirements prior to departure
    – insurance, contacts, voluntary registration of citizens
  8. EUR account for payment of the scholarship
  9. Participation Agreement
  10. Extending a stay
  11. Requirements upon return
  12. Financial settlement in the event of returning early
  13. Short-term PhD traineeships
  14. Database of completed Erasmus student reports (link)
  15. Database of traineeships (link)
  16. General information at the University page (link)

 


 

1. Qualification terms for the Erasmus programme

Traineeships are another opportunity for students to go abroad as a part of the Erasmus+ programme.

Student traineeships may take place at universities or research institutes, laboratories, faculty schools, etc. In general, the receiving institution may be any public or private organization from a programme or partner country that operates in the labour market or in education, professional training, youth, and research and innovation (companies, enterprises, non-profit organizations, public and research institutions – now also embassies or consulates of the sending programme countries).

Practical and graduate traineeships may be taken in the following EU member or non-member states: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and United Kingdom.

Traineeships may be taken by all students of bachelor’s, master’s and PhD programmes of study (i.e. even part-time students and students from EU non-member states). A student’s studies may not be interrupted or completed.

Traineeships may be from 2 to 12 months. The minimum number of hours must be 20 hours per week. Short-term mobility abroad for PhD students may be from 5 to 30 days (see point 13).

Traineeships are included in the duration of Erasmus stays that the student has already completed at the specified level of studies. The maximum duration at the level of each programme is 12 months.

You can find the Qualification terms of the Erasmus+ programme for study visits and traineeships for Charles University students  in Rector’s measure no. 27/2017, odkaz: https://cuni.cz/UK-8120.html

 

2. Selecting a university, setting up the traineeship,
    and selection procedure

To select an organization abroad, you may contact our partner institutions (here) in cooperation with your supervisor or department/institute coordinator or arrange your own organization. The traineeship must be in line with the student’s area of study.

Selection procedures for traineeships are also organized by Czech Centres abroad.

Other opportunities for traineeships can be found on the web pages of the European Commission.

Traineeships may not be taken in EU institutions and organizations administering EU programmes.

Students interested in a traineeship arrange for an invitation letter from the selected institution sufficiently in advance of submitting the application. An e-mail message confirming the student’s traineeship can replace the invitation letter.

At the selected workplace abroad, the student must make arrangements for an employee who will perform the function of an external student supervisor. Subsequently, a preliminary description of the traineeship is prepared, which can be laboratory work, field research, cooperation within a project, etc. The traineeship does not include self-study, writing a thesis, or passing exams at a partner institution.

{The final approval for the content of the traineeship in the form of a Learning Agreement  is made by the programme guarantor. A statement from the subject-area guarantor should be attached to this (especially for biology fields of study). Lastly, the traineeship is approved by the vice-dean for student affairs (see point 3).}

Selection procedures for traineeships are in the competence of the department/institute Erasmus coordinators (a list can be found here), who announce the dates for the procedures and publish the application requirements. It is possible to apply for a traineeship throughout the year, so agree on the date of the selection procedure with the department/institute coordinator (provided you are applying for a traineeship outside the faculty selection dates).

For selection procedures, students must submit the following to the department coordinator:

  • A structured CV
  • A letter of motivation
  • A transcript of records
  • A preliminary description of the traineeship
  • A recommendation from the supervisor and language certificates, if available

 

The selection committee of the department/institute decides on the results of a selection procedure. The department/institute coordinator then informs all participants and sends the Report on the Selection Procedure to the Erasmus faculty office (for download here) with information about the  successful candidates.

 

3. Administrative work for traineeships

1. Send the following information to the Erasmus faculty office at: erasmus@natur.cuni.cz

  • Name and address of the receiving institution abroad
  • The invitation letter or forwarded e-mail message containing confirmation
    of the traineeship by the receiving institution
  • Contact person at the receiving institution (name, e-mail, telephone)
  • Planned date/period of the traineeship
  • Programme of study at the Faculty of Science, Charles University and the student’s home department


2. Based on the sent information, space is created on the CU web app for the student to enter the application (Learning Agreement); link: https://is.cuni.cz/webapps/


3. Completion and approval of the application (Learning Agreement):

  • The content of the traineeship is created based on communication between the supervisor at the Faculty of Science and the supervisor abroad
  • Complete the information for CU in the section Commitment of the three parties
  • After completion, print the application (including the first page with personal data) and arrange for approval of the guarantor of your programme of study (guarantor’s signature – 'Responsible person in the sending insitution')
  • For approval of the programme guarantor, the consent of the subject-area guarantor (if any) and the supervisor is required (both may be entered in the application).


4. Submit the signed and approved application (Learning Agreement)  in person or by e-mail (erasmus@natur.cuni.cz) to the Erasmus faculty office.

  • The Erasmus faculty office checks the application, approves the traineeship in the web app, and arranges for the signature of the vice-dean for student affairs.


5. The student receives the signed application (Learning Agreement)  by e-mail and sends it abroad to be signed,
 

* IMPORTANT: Students must verify the requirements of the receiving institution themselves (e.g. their own form for the Learning Agreement; creation of an application in the web app of the receiving institution, accommodation terms, dates of the orientation day or language courses, etc.). The deadline for submitting the application (Learning Agreement) may differ from the deadlines at CU. Therefore, it is recommended to work on the application for CU and for the receiving institution at the same time. *

 

– if required by the receiving institution, the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies, Charles University may issue confirmation of a student’s language level based on:

  • A submitted certificate of successfully completing lifelong learning courses at the Faculty of Science
  • A foreign language exam MS760ZK (B1) or MS760ZK2 (A2) passed by a student enrolled prior to 2014
  • A submitted international certificate (FCE, CAE, CPE, IELTS, TOEFL, etc.)
  • Individual exams at the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies, Charles University – more information here. The student must send confirmation to the Erasmus faculty office (e-mail; a screenshot showing that the institution abroad requires confirmation of one’s language level). On the basis of this, they receive a confirmed Report on the Selection Procedure, which is submitted by the Institute for Language and Preparatory Studies, Charles University for the purpose of testing.

 

4. EU Academy language test

 Attention: Starting 23rd of January 2023 this language test is OPTIONAL. 

We would like to inform you about a new online language support (OLS)  on the platform EU Academy.

This new version offers many interactive and interesting language activities that will help you to learn a new language or advance a language you already know. The EU Academy is designed to meet needs of all students. Creating an account and starting a language education takes only a few seconds! The introduction module will quickly show you how to create a new account, which will give you an access to the OLS and many other short courses at the EU Academy.

The first step is to create an account at: https://academy.europa.eu/courses/welcome-to-the-eu-academy, after receiving a confirmation e-mail, follow the link bellow.

https://academy.europa.eu/local/euacademy/pages/course/community-overview.php?title=learn-a-new-language

How to take the entrance exam?

  1. Follow the second link
  2. Click on ‚Resume‘. Scroll down and click on ‚Join community‘
  3. Choose the preferred language group (English is at the bottom) and click on ‚Language assessment‘ to start the exam
  4. Complete the exam
  5. The EU Academy will immediately give you your results (wrong/correct answers).
    At the end it will show you the level of language.
  6. After completing the exam you can continue in learning the language in ‚Dashboard‘

 

5. Acceptance by the workplace abroad

To be accepted on a traineeship, the following two documents are needed:

 

  • The Learning agreement  signed by the university abroad

  • An acceptance letter

 

6. Decision of the dean on awarding
    a special-purpose scholarship

The Erasmus faculty office issues a Scholarship Decision  to the student based on the submitted acceptance letter and the Learning Agreement signed by the organization abroad. The signing of the Scholarship Decision  by the Dean of the Faculty of Science is arranged by the Foreign Affairs Office of the faculty (Albertov 6, 3rd floor).

For this step, the student must sign a power of attorney without notarization.

Financial support for the specific countries: rates by country (call 2021). The total amount of the scholarship is calculated according to the duration of the traineeship.

 

7. Requirements prior to departure
    – insurance, contacts, voluntary registration of citizens

The signing of the Scholarship Decision  by the Dean of the Faculty of Science is arranged by the Foreign Affairs Office of the faculty (Albertov 6, 3rd floor).

At this point, you will be asked to sign an affidavit to confirm the obligations of an outgoing student, pursuant to Rector’s Measure no. 33/2016. These obligations are as follows:

  1.  To arrange sufficient health insurance for the specific destination
  2.  To register in the system Voluntary registration of Czech citizens for trips abroad  (DROZD)
  3.  To provide contact information abroad to the faculty
  4.  To provide contact information for a close person or relative
  5.  To acquaint yourself with the security situation in the country of the traineeship

More information can be found here:
https://www.natur.cuni.cz/fakulta/zahranicni-agenda/pro-studenty/pomoc
 

Czech citizens are entitled to health care in the EU and EEA countries under Council Regulations (EEC) No. 1408/71 and No. 574/72.  However, in any EU country, one must take into account patient co-payment. Hence, it is the student’s responsibility to arrange insurance for all medical expenses valid for the destination country.

An amendment to the above-mentioned Regulations , has been in force since 1 June 2004, which introduces the European Health Insurance Card  as proof of entitlement to medical care in the EU and EEA countries.

In connection with a traineeship abroad, health insurance, accident insurance, and liability insurance for damage is required, which will be valid for the workplace abroad.

Information about faculty insurance (how to proceed in the event of an insurance claim, insurance limits, cards) is available here.

 

8. EUR account for payment of the scholarship

Filling in the account number in the online Erasmus application is one of the conditions for issuing the Participation Agreement  and for paying out the scholarship by the European Office of the Rectorate. A euro account may be opened at any bank with a branch office in the Czech Republic (if you use a bank other than KB, also fill in the IBAN and SWIFT codes).

 

9. Participation Agreement

The student concludes a Participation Agreement with Charles University through the European Office of the Rectorate, which sets out the terms of use for the scholarship. This is the last document that needs to be arranged before leaving. Participation Agreements are prepared according to the date of departure. You will be informed about the possibility of signing by an e-mail from the European Office of the Rectorate. (The Participation Agreement cannot be prepared without the EUR account number, see point 8).

The following documents are needed at the European Office to sign the agreement: 

  • The signed Decision of the dean on awarding a special-purpose scholarship
  • The Learning Agreement (confirmed abroad)
  • The Acceptance/Invitation/Admission Letter

No later than fourteen days after the signing of the Participation Agreement, the scholarship for a whole semester will be transferred to your EUR account.

 

10. Extending a stay

An Erasmus+ traineeship may be extended:

a) With no entitlement to an increase in financial support (i.e. zero-grant)
b) With financial support awarded


In both cases:

  • An Erasmus student can take advantage of all the benefits that the Erasmus programme offers for the extended period of time.
  • The total duration of the stay (including the extended period) must not exceed 12 months, and the stay must be completed no later than by the end of the academic year.
  • The extended period must relate directly to the originally planned visit.
  • According to the rules of Erasmus, the extension must be approved no later than one month before the planned end of the stay.


The following is needed for an extended stay:

  • Consent to extend the stay from the selection committee (the Erasmus department/institute coordinator informs the Erasmus faculty office)
  • Preparation of a continuing plan for the traineeship
  • Recording changes in the web app  and arranging for the guarantor of the programme of study to approve them
  • Sending to the Erasmus faculty office the consent of the workplace abroad to extending the traineeship in the form of an Acceptance Letter for the extended period

After completing the above-mentioned steps, the faculty coordinator will extend the duration of the traineeship in the web app. If the student is awarded additional funds, the faculty coordinator will issue an Amendment to the Dean’s Decision on Awarding a Scholarship, which is approved in a manner similar to the original Decision (see point 6). The European Office of the Rectorate then sends the Amendment to the Participation Agreement to the student for signing.

 

11. Requirements upon return

  1. To submit the required documents within 10 days of being issued to the Erasmus faculty office  and the European Office of the Rectorate  (no later than by 22 September of the respective academic year)
  2. To complete the Final report

Documents for the European Office of the Rectorate:

  1. Traineeship Certificate
  2. Confirmation of Erasmus+ period – original document
  3. * The coordinator at the university abroad may also send these documents directly to the e-mail addresses: erasmus@natur.cuni.cz and erasmus@ruk.cuni.cz *

Documents for the Erasmus faculty office:

  1. Traineeship Certificate
  2. Confirmation of Erasmus+ period – copy of the document
  3. Request for entering the Erasmus traineeship in SIS

Relating to the specific documents:

  • Traineeship Certificate – issued and confirmed by the head of the workplace abroad. If the form is not provided by the workplace abroad, you may download it here.
    Submission date:  within 10 days of being issued by the receiving institution, but no later than 22 September of the respective academic year.
  • Confirmation of Erasmus+ period  – issued and signed by the receiving institution. This document is annex D to the Participation Agreement, or you can download it here.
    If the traineeship abroad has been shortened, as confirmed in the Confirmation of the Erasmus+ period, the student must return the unauthorized drawn part of the scholarship.
    Submission date:  within 10 days of being issued by the receiving institution, but no later than 22 September of the respective academic year.
  • Request for entering the Erasmus traineeship in SIS – to be downloaded here.
    If there was a change to the originally approved traineeship, a statement from the supervisor and the guarantor of the programme of study is needed.
  • Final Report – two parts:
    • Mobility Tool/EU Survey in the European-wide database
    • Survey Charles Abroad
    The student receives instructions on how to complete the report in the form of an automatic e-mail generated by the database after the end of the traineeship abroad. The final report should be completed within 15 days of the end of the traineeship.

 

12. Financial settlement in the event of returning early

In the event of returning early from the traineeship, according to the data from the confirmation of the length of stay, the student is obliged to return the respective part of the scholarship, which is automatically calculated based on the dates and amounts specified in point 7.

 

13. Short-term PhD traineeships

In order to better meet the diverse needs of PhD students in the area of education and to ensure equal opportunities, PhD students and recent graduates (“postdoctoral students”) may now also engage in short-term physical mobility for their studies or a traineeship abroad.

Length of stay: from 5 to 30 days

The amount of the scholarship from the 1st to the 14th day of activity is EUR 70/day and from the 15th to the 30th day of activity EUR 50/day. It is also possible to get an increase of EUR 50 as a part of the Green Erasmus offer.

The instructions for preparing a short-term Erasmus traineeship for PhD students, including the required documents, are identical to the above instructions for a long-term Erasmus traineeship.

 

14. Database of completed Erasmus student reports

 

15. Database of traineeships

 

16. General information at the University page

  • There is a link to the general information about Erasmus traineeships at the University page

 

 

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