Find out more about visiting the University of Suffolk and our staff erasmus exchange.
The University of Suffolk welcomes visits from existing partner institutions and particularly approaches from staff of institutions where future cooperation and student exchange look possible.
Expression of Interest - First identify the course or staff member at the University you would like to have an exchange with. Email the Erasmus Coordinator, including a CV, to show your area of expertise and how an exchange would benefit both you and the University of Suffolk.
Confirmation - The relevant course staff at Suffolk will consider how the visit fits with their plan of work and academic timetables. If they are happy to host you and you have found a suitable time,they will need to work with the Erasmus Coordinator at Suffolk to arrange an Erasmus Inter-Institutional Agreement if one does not already exist. Any Inter-Institutional Agreement must be signed by both institutions before the exchange commences.
Preparation - Check with your home university which documents they will need to verify your exchange. These can include a teaching plan, expenses sheets, a mobility agreement etc. Work with the hosting personnel at Suffolk on the teaching programme. Finalise your travel dates with your departmental contact. Visiting staff usually make their own arrangements for travel and accommodation but we can offer some recommendations on local hotels.
Your Visit- We hope this will be enjoyable as well as challenging. You should spend the majority of your time on teaching (or training) in the host department.
After the visit - Submit travel expenses and any final reports to your sending university. Make further contact with your hosts here, to offer their staff to visit you in return.
Staff Mobility
Teaching and professional members of staff may spend a minimum of 3 days in a European University which has an Erasmus agreement with the University. These short visits will allow staff to contribute to, and learn from, best practice, find out first-hand the workings of another European education system or deliver a course with European colleagues. The visit should be organised by the member of staff who should also be prepared in return to welcome a visitor to Suffolk. The University Erasmus Coordinator is more than happy to talk with you individually or arrange a visit to your schoolt o talk about Erasmus+ ('Erasmus plus', as it is now called) and how it can benefit you and your school.
Funding for other activities
Staff and student mobility is funded under an Erasmus+ funding stream called 'Key Action 1'. There are other funding streams for activities: Key Action 2 is for 'co-operation for innovation and exchange of good practices' and 3 is 'support for policy reform'. Please see the the Erasmus+ website for more details.
How to apply
Please contact the Erasmus coordinator to find out if you are eligible to go as the numbers we can send depends on the staff mobility budget applied for the previous year.
There are two types of Staff Mobility; teaching and training. If you go on a teaching mobility you will have to teach a minimum of 8 hours at your host institution. Training mobility allowances are for professional services personnel to go and look at best practice, etc.
If we already have an Erasmus agreement with your host institution in the EU then the application will be more straightforward. If we don't then you would need to propose an agreement on a form available here.
Travel must take place by 31 July of each year
Visits should usually be a minimum of 2 working days and a maximum of six weeks
All visits must have an agreed work plan and a follow up evaluation report
All staff interested in applying for staff mobility, please complete & return the Erasmus+ Teaching & Training Staff Mobility Application.
Points to note
- Priority must be given to those members of staff who have not undertaken a mobility visit before. Funding for these visits is limited and will be distributed between Schools as even-handedly as is practical.
- Subsistence grants are intended to provide a contribution towards travel and subsistence. All receipts must be submitted with the claim
- Travel costs may cover travel from the point of departure to the host, but do not include local travel during the mobility
- A minimum duration of 3 working days is strongly recommended to provide a meaningful contribution to the teaching programme and international academic life at the host institution. Visits of less than 3 days must be the exception and a rationale for this must be provided
- Before departure, the teaching programme should be agreed formally by the sending and host institution; evidence must be kept that this has been agreed prior to departure, and any amendments must also be formally agreed and retained
- Both the teaching or training programme and the contract must be agreed and signed before departure
- On completion of the mobility visit staff will need to complete an online evaluation form which is sent directly to the British Council; funds cannot be reimbursed until the University is informed that the form has been received. This may lead to slight delays in processing claims
- All participants will need to provide a Certificate Of Attendance from the host institution confirming the duration of stay before any funds can be released
- The focus of staff training mobilities has changed so that now the majority of the visit must focus on 'practical skills'
Types of mobility
- Teacher Mobility: This allows short teaching visits so that they can contribute to the curriculum of partner institutions. The main purpose of the visit should be for teaching and not research.
- Staff Training: Mobility of professional services and teaching staff to allow them to learn from the experiences and good practices of a partner institution and to improve the skills required for their current job. This may take the form of a short secondment period, job-shadowing, study visit etc
Deadlines
Staff exchanges generally do not have deadlines but in terms of even distribution of funds for such exchanges it would be best to apply before December for exchanges the following semester.
What is Erasmus+ and what are the possibilities for us and the University?
For general information about staff mobility please read the British Council website