Tagged / Erasmus Mundus

Erasmus+ exchange visit to Nepal by Dr. Rebecca Neal

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Last weekend Dr. Rebecca Neal, from the Faculty of Health & Social Sciences (FHSS) arrived in Kathmandu on her Erasmus+ exchange with Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) in Nepal.  Rebecca is a Senior Lecturer in Exercise Physiology in the Department of Rehabilitation & Sport Sciences.  She met with Prof. Sujan Marahatta at MMIHS to discuss her her teaching in Kathmandu (see photo).  Prof. Marahatta is also BU Visiting Faculty in FHSS. Rebecca faciltiated a workshop session with MSc students on their research proposals for their dissertations on her first day in Kathmandu.

BU is currently in the process of renewing its MoA with MMIHS, to continue working together after the completion of the Erasmus+ programme.  We aim to to maintain the partnership, as the BU-MMIHS collaboration includes various funded and unfunded research projects apart from the Erasmus+ programme.

 

Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen

CMMPH

Erasmus+ workshop at BU by Prof. Marahatta from Nepal

international, Publishing

Yesterday (10th August) Prof. Sujan Marahatta from Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences (MMIHS) gave an insightful talk under the title ‘Response to COVID-19 in Nepal’ to colleagues at Bournemouth University. Prof. Marahatta arrived in the UK yesterday morning and straight off the bus from Heathrow  airport came to present in the Bournemouth Gateway Building.  He is at Bournemouth University as part of the ERASMUS+ Key Action 107 which includes the exchange of academic staff and students between the UK and Nepal, between BU and MMIHS.  His talk covered his role in writing the official report ‘Responding to COVID-19’.

He also spoke about the various joint studies conducted between MMIHS and academics in BU’s Faculty of Health & Social Sciences.  These collaborations include a range of BU academics, Dr. Pramod Regmi, Dr. Catherine Angell, Dr. Preeti Mahato (who recently moved to Royal Holloway), Prof. Carol Clark, Prof. Edwin van Teijlingen, Dr. Nirmal Aryal, Dr. Shanti Shanker, and Prof. Vanora Hundley.

Erasmus+ is the European Commission’s flagship for financial support of mobility for Higher Education students, teachers and institutions. The British Councill is the funding agency in the UK and coordinates the funding at a national level.  BU is proud to be part of Erasmus+.

Welcoming our newest Erasmus Mundus TECHNO II post-doc

I am Dr Helmi Norman, an Erasmus Mundus post-doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Science and Technology, Bournemouth University (BU). I arrived here late December 2014 and will be attached here until the end of June 2015. My research interest is in the area of emerging learning technologies, where I am particularly interested in the mobile, online and ubiquitous technologies that can applied for 21st century learning.

Currently, at BU, I am working with Dr Huseyin Dogan on three main research initiatives. First, we are working with the Technology-Enhanced Learning Division under the Centre for Excellence in Learning at BU on creating a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) for education technology. The MOOC created could serve as platform for educators in exploring potential teaching and learning technologies for promoting learner-driven innovations. I have been previously involved with a national MOOC initiative in Malaysia and the BU MOOC initiative can further spark new cross-regional research between Europe and Asia in this field.

Second, we are currently studying on social media addiction which is currently becoming a serious issue and we are investigating effective approaches and techniques of intervening with the addiction. Third, we are also currently working on a research about peer assessment using online learning technologies.

Feel free to contact me on future collaborations at mnorman@bournemouth.ac.uk or helmi.norman@gmail.com.  

 

BU has two Erasmus Mundus Academic Partnerships TECHNO and TECHNO II partnerships. Please contact Dr Demetra Andreou if you would like more information: dandreou@bournemouth.ac.uk

Erasmus Mundus call released

Erasmus+ is the EU’s largest programme of support for education and training worth a mega €14.7bn. Projects usually run 2-3 years and they all have the aim of  improving the level of key competencies and skills, improving the innovation and internationalisatoon of education and supporting the modernisation of education and training.

There are 11 programmes of funding available:

  1. Asylum & Migration: People flows and management of migration
  2. Creative Europe: Support for European cinema and the cultural and creative sectors
  3. EaSI: Programme for social change and innovation
  4. Erasmus+: Programme for education, training, youth and sport
  5. Europe for Citizens: Strengthen remembrance and enhance capacity for civic participation at Union level
  6. Health for Growth: Improving the quality, efficiency and sustainability of health systems
  7. Internal Security Fund: Support for the EU’s Internal Security Strategy
  8. Justice: Ensuring proper access to justice in cross-border legal cases
  9. COSME: Improving the business environment and the competitiveness of European enterprises.
  10. LIFE: Environmental and climate change action projects
  11. Rights, Equality & Citizenship: Promote the rights deriving from European citizen

The most generically applicable programme sunder the new organisation for BU staff is the Erasmus Mundus programme which is now found under Erasmus+ under :

  • Key Action 1 ‘Learning Mobility of Individuals’
  • Key Action 2 ‘Cooperation for Innovation & Exchange of Good Practice’

If you wish to make an Erasmus Mundus Action 2 submission, please get in touch with Paul Lynch or Sarah Katon a minimum of 5 weeks before the deadline of 3 March 2014 as Partners must be reviewed as part of our internal processes.

Erasmus Mundus calls for proposals released!

The first calls for Erasmus Mundus have been released. This call is for Action 2 of the Programme which is aimed at  fostering structured cooperation between EU and third-country higher education institutions through the promotion of mobility at all levels of studies for students (undergraduate and masters), doctoral and post-doctoral candidates, researchers, academic and administrative staff (not all regions and lots may include all types of mobility flow).

Action 2  of the Erasmus Mundus partnerships call is divided into two strands:

  • Erasmus Mundus Action 2 — STRAND 1 — Partnerships with countries covered by the ENPI, DCI, IPA and ICI (ICI +) instruments;
  • Erasmus Mundus Action 2 — STRAND 2 — Partnerships with countries and territories covered by the Industrialised Countries Instrument (ICI).

The countries to be targetted and the number of projects likely to be selected and the budget available can all be found in the Guidance Document. The deadline for proposals  is 3 March 2014. You may also recall that over the summer a new process to manage Erasmus Mundus submissions was implemented at BU whereby partners on these proposals must be approved by the International & UK Partnerships Committee (IUPC). To ensure the approval is a speedy process, a bespoke proposal form, template and process has been developed for Erasmus Mundus applications. Once approved by this committee, this will help ensure the Contract Agreement Form is produced much faster.
If you are approached to be part of an Erasmus Mundus proposal, or would like to coordinate one then you will need to complete a Partnership Development Proposal form a minimum of five weeks before the deadline – this will be the 27 January . The full process and timescale can be obtained by contacting Paul Lynch or Sarah Katon who will guide you through this.

 

 

 

New Process for Erasmus Mundus Partner Approvals

Erasmus Mundus grants are a fantastic source of EU funding. It is important that BU ensures Partners we link with as part of these awards are aligned to our strategic objectives or have a strong rationale for linking with them. In summer 2013 the BU Policy 7A Partnership Definitions and Models was amended to include Erasmus Mundus Partnerships under the ‘student exchange’ definition. This amendment ensures that partnership agreements under Erasmus Mundus will follow existing policies and procedures for student exchange developments, including 7B Partnership Approval, and 7H Student Exchange.

This means for the next round of Erasmus Mundus calls (anticipated April 2013), partners on these proposals must be approved by the International & UK Partnerships Committee (IUPC). To ensure the approval is a speedy process, a bespoke proposal form, template and process has been developed for Erasmus Mundus applications. Once approved by this committee, this will help ensure the Contract Agreement Form is produced much faster.
If you are approached to be part of an Erasmus Mundus proposal, or would like to coordinate one then you will need to complete the Partnership Development Proposal form a minimum of five weeks before the deadline. The full process and timescale can be obtained by contacting your RKEO Operations Officer who will guide you through this.

If you wish to participate in an Erasmus Mundus and have not notified R&KEO a minimum of five weeks in advance of the deadline, then you must make an appeal to your Deputy Dean Research & Enterprise and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Professor Matthew Bennett.

Erasmus Mundus Call Open – INTERESTED?

Funding opportunities

 

The Erasmus Mundus 2013 call for proposals is now open!  Full details of the call can be found here and please note that this year’s call is for Action 2 and 3 proposals only.

We need to assess the level of interest across BU in submitting applications to this call in order to ensure we meet the guidelines re multiple applications.

If interested in applying, please contact Paul Lynch asap! –  plynch@bournemouth.ac.uk

Erasmus Mundus call out!

This is a reminder that the Erasmus Mundus 2013 call for proposals has been released!  Full details of the call can be found here and this year’s call is for Action 2 and 3 proposals only. The British Council plans to hold an Erasmus Mundus Information Day on 8 February 2012 in order to support institutions who are currently participating in Erasmus Mundus projects and those who are interested in submitting proposals under the current call. Further details of how to register for this event will be circulated in the near future.

Erasmus Mundus Funding Available

 The Erasmus Mundus 2013 call for proposals is now open!  Full details of the call can be found here and please note that this year’s call is for Action 2 and 3 proposals only.

The British Council plans to hold an Erasmus Mundus Information Day on 8 February 2012 in order to support institutions who are currently participating in Erasmus Mundus projects and those who are interested in submitting proposals under the current call. Further details of how to register for this event will be circulated in the near future….

The future of Erasmus

BU had had a successful track record with Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus, Leonardo da Vinci and other Lifelong Learning programme initiatives so I am pleased to have an update on these in Horizon 2020. This year the Erasmus scheme is 25 years old it’s good to see that education and youth policies remain high on the EU agenda and features heavily in documents such as Europe 2020 and Education and Youth 2020 strategy.

In order to avoid duplication and increase simplification, for Horizon 2020 the lifelong learning programmes, Erasmus, Grundtvig, Leonardo and Cornelius, Youth in Action and other smaller programmes will be compressed into 3 Erasmus for All initiatives with a whopping €19billion budget. The current 7 different co-financing rules will all be harmonised into one set of rules for all schemes within this programme. Also under the current programmes we need to have an Erasmus University Charter which will still be needed. Once you have it you never need to apply again, which is good for BU as we already have it.  This Charter covers different aspects of mobility for staff, students and placements and the EC are currently debating how best they can amalgamate these without making places like BU having to apply from scratch again. The three proposed Erasmus for All initiatives are:

1. Learning Mobility: This will focus on individuals and will have 63% of the budget. It will target staff (youth workers, school workers, teachers, trainers) and Higher Education students and Masters students. It will also cover volunteering and youth exchanges for young people and mobility outside of the EU.  So what does this mean for us? Well, more mobility is available as Erasmus has an international focus, not just EU. I will offer high quality joint Masters degrees through consortiums of universities and also will provide us with student loan guarantees to boost mobility.

2. Cooperation Projects: This will have 25% of the budget which will be used to support cooperation in order to achieve innovation and good practice which it will achieve through strategic partnership support between various stakeholders (including education to education and education to businesses). It wants to use funding to explore how we can make graduates more employable – what skills and competencies for graduates need to be employed in certain  sectors. It will also support large scale partnerships between higher education institutes and businesses through large ‘knowledge alliances’ (up to €1m) and support third county capacity building. So what does this mean for us? The will be Erasmus Clusters which have intense cooperation between countries which we need to be part of. We need to also get involved with businesses to achieve the knowledge alliance aspects and we can also now target countries outside of the EU to build working relationships with. Finally we could start to use strategic partnerships through this type of funding to establish future Marie Curie fellowships.

3. Policy Support: This funds holds 4% of the budget and will be used for policy reform, particularly this policies mentioned in the introduction. It will support the valorisation and implementation of EU transparency tools, policy dialogue with stakeholders and will cover the entire world and not just the EU. So what does this mean for us? We can get involved with countries sours de of Europe and contribute to policy development.

What about Jean Monnet and sport funding? Don’t worry these will also exist in Erasmus for All. Jean Monnet will remain pretty much exactly how it is supporting institutions who promote European citizenship. As for sport, it was determined by the EC that many aspects of sport research involve the need for learning, such as why racism exists in sport, and so they have included it within the Erasmus for All scheme.

By early 2013 the European Parliament would have reviewed and agreed the final proposals for Erasmus for All and so we will know the final details as how it will look and confirmation of the budgets etc at this point. I will of course keep you updated each time in receive any information.

Even more reasons to think about an Erasmus Mundus application

David Willetts, Minister for Universities and Science, recently submitted a response to a report ‘Recommendations to support UK Outward Student Mobility ‘ produced by a group established last year to review the obstacles and incentives to outward student mobility in the UK.  

Support was given for the report which advocates the creation of a national strategy for mobility supported by ‘a body designed to facilitate and promote best practice, effectiveness and professionalism’. In fact Mr Willetts liked it so much he asked the Group’s Chair to explore possible models for a national strategy, including a national body to coordinate this, for a future meeting of the high-level International Education Advisory Forum.

Student mobility is becoming a more strategic issue for the UK, giving students a competitive advantage in the employment market and institutions an increase in international collaborative research and raising the institutions profile across the world.

The EC released figures on the Erasmus Mundus programme last week; approximately 231,000 students and 43,000 university staff received an EU grant to study or work abroad as part of the Erasmus programme in 2010-11. This represents a  7.2 per cent increase for study grants compared with the previous academic year; a 15 per cent increase in grants for work placements; and a 13.3 per cent increase for staff exchanges.

Erasmus Mundus is a great way for you to get involved with student mobility and to help you build stronger networks abroad for future research collaborations. This programme funded by the EC is designed especially to help you establish partnerships with institutions abroad and also to allow you to study/ research/ teach internationally. You can read more on the Erasmus Mundus scheme on my previous blogpost.

New management process for Erasmus Mundus at BU

I am delighted so many of you have been inspired to apply for Erasmus Mundus after Rudy Gozlan’s recent success with the TECHNO project (presentation available at I:\R&KEO\Public\RDU\Erasmus Mundus). With this in mind, RKE Operations will now manage both the pre- and post- award process for all Erasmus Mundus applications with immediate effect. The process will therefore be just like any research bid you wish to submit at BU, and the key person to contact if you wish to apply is Paul Lynch.

For anyone unfamiliar with it, the Erasmus Mundus is a European Commission funding programme which provides organisations such as BU in order to establish partnerships and to individual researchers, students or professional support staff in order to study/ research/ teach. There are 3 ‘actions’ of support which you can read in more detail in this blogpost. It’s a great scheme and a fantastic way to create networks across the world.

Erasmus Mundus is not to be confused with its sister ‘Erasmus’ programme which supports study exchanges and work placements in Europe for students for a minimum of 3 months and funding to help support staff teaching or training visits to partner universities or enterprises in Europe. This will still be managed by Deborah Velay in Student & Academic Services as it is heavily student focused, has different pre- and post- award management requirements to Erasmus Mundus.

Any confusion between the two schemes should be eliminated with the Erasmus for All programme which will see the merger of 7 huge Lifelong Learning Programmes funded by the Commission, including Erasmus, Erasmus Mundus, Leonardo, Grundtvig, etc. I will keep you posted with details as I get them!

Erasmus Mundus EM-iDEA events in March and July

This is an announcement for the second and third conferences organised by the Erasmus Mundus (EM) Action 3 project EM-iDEA, which will take place in, Lund (Sweden) on March 27th 2012 and Vilnius (Lithuania) on July 13th 2012

The aim of the EM-iDEA project is to bring together those working and interested in Erasmus Mundus projects to exchange and to prepare collective actions. These conferences are two of six regional conferences organised by the project. Three more will be held before July 2013 in Novi Sad, Valencia and Bordeaux. You will find information on the conference which was held in Ghent on the project’s website, where you will also find a newsletter.

You should consider attending one of the sessions if you are working on an existing joint programme of Erasmus Mundus or if you are preparing a new one, if you wish to meet people involved in the implementation of joint programmes or if you would like to participate in the creation of a structured network of professionals with experience in the development and implementation of joint programmes. Have a look and book your place now 🙂

What is Erasmus Mundus?

What is Erasmus Mundus?

Erasmus Mundus is a European Commission funded programme which provides support to organisations (such as BU) as a whole in order to establish partnerships and to individual researchers, students or professional support staff in order to study/ research/ teach. The programme is based on the following principles:

  • To promote mobility at all level of studies for students (undergraduates and masters),doctoral candidates, researchers, academic and administrative staff
  • To enhance the quality of European higher education
  • To promote dialogue and understanding between people and cultures through cooperation with other countries
  • To contribute to the development of human resources and the international cooperation capacity of Higher education institutions in Third Countries (such as the USA, Zambia, South Africa, India and Chile) by increasing mobility between the European Union and these countries

What type of funding is available?

There are 3 different strands of funding:
Action 1: Joint Programmes (including scholarships)
This Action will foster cooperation between higher education institutions and academic staff in Europe and Third Countries with a view to creating poles of excellence and providing highly trained human resources. Joint programmes of outstanding academic quality are designed and implemented by a consortium of European universities from at least 3 different countries. Consortia may also include universities from other parts of the world. Scholarships / fellowships are open to higher education students and academics from all over the world. Programmes include obligatory study and research periods, in at least two universities, and award recognised double, multiple or joint degrees. Action 1 provides:
• Support for high-quality joint masters courses and doctoral programmes offered by a consortium of European, and possibly Third Country, higher education institutions. Other types of organisations concerned by the content and outcomes of the joint programme can participate in the consortium.
• Scholarships/fellowships for Third Country and European students/doctoral candidates to follow these Erasmus Mundus joint masters’ courses and doctoral programmes.
• Short-term scholarships for Third Country and European academics to carry out research or teaching assignments as part of the joint masters programmes.

Action 2: Partnerships with Third Country higher education institutions and scholarships for mobility
Partnerships in the framework of Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013 are the basis for enhancing academic cooperation and exchanges of students and academics, contributing to the socio-economic development of non-EU countries targeted by EU external cooperation policy. Consortia must include a minimum of 5 higher education institutions from at least 3 European countries and a number of higher education institutions from targeted non European regions. Special attention is given to disadvantaged groups and populations in vulnerable situations. Action 2 provides:
1. Support for the establishment of cooperation partnerships between European higher education institutions and higher education institutions from targeted Third Countries with the objective of organising and implementing structured individual mobility arrangements between the European and Third Country partners.
2. Scholarships of various lengths – depending on the priorities defined for the Third Country concerned, the level of studies or the particular arrangements agreed within the partnership – for European and Third-Country individuals (students, scholars, researchers, professionals).
Action 2 activities are funded by different financial instruments available in the context of the External Relations activities of the Union (i.e. the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument, the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance, the Development Cooperation and Economic Cooperation Policy Instrument, the European Development Fund and the Industrialised Countries Instrument). Because of the diversity in the policy objectives covered by these financial instruments, and the different needs and priorities of the Third Countries concerned, Action 2 implementation rules may vary considerably from one year to another and from one partner country to another.

Action 3: Promotion of European higher education
Action 3 promotes European higher education through measures enhancing the attractiveness of Europe as an educational destination and a centre of excellence at world level. Action 3 projects should contribute to:
1. the promotion and awareness raising of the European higher education sector as well as the relevant cooperation programmes and funding schemes;
2. the dissemination of the programme’s results and examples of good practice;
3. the exploitation of these results at institutional and individual level.
This Action provides support to activities related to the international dimension of all aspects of higher education, such as promotion, accessibility, quality assurance, credit recognition, mutual recognition of qualifications, curriculum development and mobility.
Activities can be implemented by mixed networks of organisations active in the field of higher education composed of at least 3 participating organisations from European countries and 1 from Third Countries.

What kind of activities are included?

Funding can be used for a range of activities, depending on the applicant, as the following table illustrates:

Higher education institutions organised into consortia/partnerships

 

 Higher education institutions can participate in:

  •  Consortia to develop and implement joint masters/doctoral programmes (Action 1); 
  • Partnerships (Action 2);
  • Consortia to develop and implement promotion projects (Action 3).
Other bodies

 

 Other bodies active in the field of higher education and research:

• Other public or private bodies active in the field of education and research can participate in:
– Consortia to develop and implement joint masters/doctoral programmes (Action 1).
– Consortia to develop and implement promotion projects (Action 3).

• Enterprises and other employers can participate in:
 – Consortia to develop and implement joint doctoral programmes (Action 1).

• Erasmus Mundus National Structures can participate in:
– Consortia to develop and implement promotion projects (Action 3).

Other bodies which could be particularly relevant for the objectives and activities of the programme:

• Associates partners from the eligible countries can be involved in the Partnerships (Action 2). They play an active role in the action but they are not beneficiaries and may not receive funding from the grant.
Students and academics

 

 • Students in higher education can receive scholarships for:
– Undergraduate studies (Action 2);
– Masters studies (Actions 1 and 2); • Doctoral candidates can receive fellowships for:
– Doctoral studies (Actions 1 and 2);
– Post-doctoral studies (Action 2);• Teachers and researchers can receive fellowships for:
– Teaching and research periods (Actions 1 and 2);• Other academic staff can receive scholarships / fellowships under Actions 1 and 2

What is the application process?

The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is responsible for the management of all three actions of Erasmus Mundus, under the supervision of the Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC of the European Commission) and EuropeAid Development and Cooperation (DG DEVCO). This means applications must be made to them directly. The process of application is dependent on who is submitting the proposal.
Institutions organised into consortia/partnerships: Higher education institutions and organisations active in the field of higher education have to apply centrally to the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency in accordance with the application conditions and timetable defined in the Programme Guide and the relevant Call for Proposals. There must be one co-ordinating/applicant institution that submits the application on behalf of the consortium/partnership/network of participating organisations Applicants must be located in an eligible applicant country as defined in the Programme Guide.
Scholarships and fellowships: Students, doctoral candidates, teachers, researchers and other academic staff should address their applications directly to the selected Erasmus Mundus Masters and doctoral programmes (Action 1) and to the selected Erasmus Mundus partnerships (Action 2), in accordance with the application conditions defined by the selected consortium/partnership.

What costs are covered?

Institutions organised into consortia/partnerships: Consortia/partnerships selected under Actions 1 and 2 receive lump-sum amounts for the implementation of their activities and a number of scholarships to award to the best applicants. Proposals selected under Action 3 are co-funded up to a maximum of 75% of their costs.
Scholarships and fellowships: Scholarship amounts can vary according to the level of studies/teaching/research, their duration (3 months to 3 years) and the grantee’s nationality (scholarships for non-EU individuals are higher than for EU individuals).

The Programme Guide provides all the necessary information on the application conditions and criteria corresponding to each of the 3 Programme Actions. Regular Calls for Proposals are published to specify the activities, the application criteria and the budgetary allocations relevant to the call concerned.