Erasmus Traineeship

To be eligible for an Erasmus traineeship grant, you must:

• be registered as a full-time student at the University of Gothenburg at the time of applying.
• not simultaneously receive another EU-funded grant.  
• have agreed on a traineeship with a company or organsiation.
• do a full-time traineeship  for 2-6 months (minimum 60 days) on-site at one single organisation/company for a coherent period, or 5-30 days combined with a virtual component.  (Traineeships carried out remotely from Sweden are not eligible for the grant.) Please note that some organisations are not approved for an Erasmus traineeship.
• Intend to get your degree at the University of Gothenburg. Get the traineeship credited, recognised through the Diploma Supplement or carry out the training after graduating (Read more under headline Recent graduate) In any event the traineeship period has to be approved by your department. Students taking one or a few courses without purpose of graduating are not eligible for the Erasmus traineeship grant.
• The traineeship must be in a country that takes part in the Erasmus programme. Note: Switzerland is not part of Erasmus on an equal footing with the Programme Countries, but will rather enjoy the same status as other third countries. Therefore it is not possible to finance an Erasmus traineeship within the programme at the moment.
• To receive the grant you need to be physically present on-site at the receving organisation or at least in the hosting country during the traineeship period.

An Erasmus traineeship carried out remotely from Sweden is not an approved activity for the grant, but if your traineeship period starts remotely from Sweden and transitions to a traineeship on-site abroad, you can receive a grant for the part that takes place on-site abroad, provided that the remaining period is at least 60 days.

Do I need to be a Swedish citizen to apply for an Erasmus traineeship grant?

A student no longer needs a particular citizenship or permanent residency status to take part in Erasmus exchange activities. All students at a Swedish university or university college are eligible as long as they meet the remaining grant requirements.

The grant is not intended to cover all of a student’s extra costs that arise in connection with the placement (such as travel and accommodation expenses), but should rather be considered a partial contribution. The value of the grant depends on the location and duration of the placement.

The amount is based on the number of days you are away, but for simplicity the figures are displayed on a monthly basis below.

Group 1: €710/ month (30 days)
Programme countries with higher costs of living
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Lichtenstein, Luxemburg, Norway.

Group 2: €660/month (30 days)
Programme countries with lower costs of living
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,  Macedonia, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Germany and Hungary.

As Switzerland and the United Kingdom are not part of the Erasmus programme, traineeship grants will not be approved for those countries.

Double funding

The student may not accept more than one grant (or equivalent) from the EU or the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR) for the same mobility period.

When does the granted money arrive?

If you have submitted a complete application in time (30 days before the start date of the planned traineeship period) with correct information and have been approved, you will receive the payment at the beginning of the traineeship period. It is impossible to state a specific date for this, as banks differ in the time they take to process transactions.

For which countries may a traineeship grant be approved?

The following countries are categorised as programme countries and can fully participate in the Erasmus :

• The 26 EU Member States (Not Sweden)
• EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
• Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey
• "Outermost regions": the Canary Islands, Madeira, the Azores, Mayotte, Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthelemy
• The Territories in the list, “Overseas countries and territories
   

Switzerland and the UK are not currently part of the Erasmus program and are therefore not approved countries for Erasmus traineeships.
Switzerland and some other countries have initiated their own Government scholarship that students can apply for. However, for traineeships in Switzerland, the student's application must go through a Swiss partner university who is willing to administer the students´application. Contact your department to find out if there is an agreement with such a partner university.

It is important to know that Government scholarships cannot be combined with funding from The Swedish Board of Student Finance (CSN) so the student must choose one of the forms of funding.
 

Which types of organisations are eligible to serve as traineeship hosts?

• Businesses, organisations and centres for research and education
• Swedish public employers and international secretariats of foreign universities.
• Swedish diplomatic representations (for example embassies and consulates)

The offices of the political parties at the EU Parliament are not considered to belong to the EU Parliament and may therefore be approved as traineeship hosts.

Which organisations are not eligible?

• EU institutions and other EU bodies
• Organisations that administer EU programmes, for example national offices for Erasmus such as the Swedish Council for Higher Education (to avoid potential conflicts of interest and/or double funding).

However, EU institutions may be approved for students receiving a grant for a traineeship at an EU institution from the Swedish Council for Higher Education. (The website above is linked to information in Swedish. Please contact  the Swedish Council for Higher Education for information in English)

Can a traineeship be completed at a foreign university/higher education institution?

Traineeships at another higher education institution may be approved if the mobility clearly concerns work and not studies.
The following rules apply:

• The student must engage in work and not studies during the traineeship period.
• The student must be ‘employed’ as an intern at the host institution and may not be enrolled as a student. (If the student is enrolled in courses at the host institution, the visit is considered a study period and not a traineeship.)
• If higher education credits are awarded for the traineeship, they must be for the placement specifically and not for ‘normal’ course participation.

Can I complete an Erasmus traineeship in my home country?

A student who prior to enrolling at a Swedish higher education institution resided in another Erasmus country may complete a traineeship in that country. However, such traineeship are given the lowest priority in the assessment of applications.

Note that this provision only concerns which country the student moved from to study in Sweden and has nothing to do with the country in which the student has his/her ethnic roots or was born.

In which subject areas can I apply for an Erasmus traineeship?

There are no limitations. The Erasmus grants are not connected to certain subject areas. All students who meet the eligibility requirements can apply.

You can ask your Department about already established contacts with companies and organisations. Many companies and organisations are happy to receive interns, and many also advertise internship opportunities on their websites.

Is there any company or organisation where you would like to do your traineeship? Contact the company with your questions.

In the list below, you will find searchable portals and more, where you can find traineeship placements.

• ErasmusIntern
• Go Overseas
• JOE
• Annonsportalen:
• Föreningen för utvecklingsfrågor, FUF
• Globalplacement.com
• Graduateland
• Praktikplats.org
• Tyska i praktiken
• Career services at School of Business, Economics and Law
• Praktik inom utrikesförvaltningen

Traineeship within the EU institutions

For internships at EU institutions, you can apply for the "Praktik vid EU-institutioner" program through the Swedish Council for Higher Education (UHR).

IAESTE

International Association for the Exchange of Students for Technical Experience, provides international internships for students mainly in technical subjects. Currently, only students within the Faculty of Science can travel through IAESTE.

More information

For specific questions about tips on established contacts with companies and organisations, or whether the traineeship can be credited or recognized, please contact the international coordinator or internship coordinator at your department.

Your department might have certain documents that you have to complete for your traineeship period. However, when applying for the Erasmus traineeship grant, you will have to use the documents found below.

Please plan and prepare your application in good time. Your complete application (according to below) needs to reach Lena Pedersen at the International Centre a minimum one month before the traineeship period is planned to start.

All applications is to be sent by email to: erasmustrainee@gu.se
(not by ordinary post)

Scholarships are granted continuously to all approved applications as long as funds are available.

Checklist:

The following must be included in your application:

Learning Agreement for Traineeship

This is the contract between the student, the students' home university and the  receiving organisation. The LAT is to be completed by the student together with responsible person at receiving organisation. The document should state your work duties, expected results and experiences from the traineeship period and be signed this person and you.

Please note that there must be an academic approval of your application by a member of the staff within your study programme. Granted applicants will receive the LAT completed with all signatures together with the decision.

Please also note: You will find the document Learning Agreement for Traineeship in the field "For your application" if you close this tab.

Statement of Purpose

In the Statement of Purpose you should give your reasons for applying for an Erasmus traineeship grant. You should also explain the relevance and connection between your education and the traineeship, as well as stating the experiences and skills you expect to develop during the period of the placement.

CV

This should include contact details as well as information about education, work experience and linguistic skills. 
 

We accept applications continuously as long as there are funds left.

Please note that only complete applications submitted within the deadline will be considered.

Once your application has been approved the Inext step is to fill in a Grant Agreement for Traineeships. This document includes banking information.

It is important that you have good insurance coverage while being on an Erasmus traineeship abroad.

The University of Gothenburg has signed the so-called Student UT insurance with Kammarkollegiet for students studying or completing a traineeship abroad within the framework of an exchange programme or exchange agreement.

Please note that Student UT does not apply in Sweden, so in cases where traineeship are done remotely from Sweden, it is important that you make sure you are covered by a home insurance or equivalent during this part of the traineeship period.

The insurance provides around-the-clock coverage of for example the following:

• Personal injury
• Medical and dental care
• Home transport
• Visits by relatives (in connection with life-threatening injury/illness)
• Disruption (in connection with a family member’s life-threatening injury or death, or extensive property damage)

Read the terms and conditions carefully. Remember that you may need to complement Student UT with additional insurance. As always, it is important that you take charge of your own insurance protection.

Also, remember that you are only covered by the insurance when you are in the hosting country, and when you are travelling directly to and from that country. The insurance goes into effect 14 days prior to the start of your placement and expires 14 days after completion. The total insurance period is stated on the insurance certificate.

Notification of claim

If you have a claim, you must submit a claim notification.
Complete, print and sign the claim notification.

Send the claim notification form and all relevant receipts in original (police reports, medical receipts etc.) by email to:erasmustrainee@gu.se

A University of Gothenburg official then signs the claim notification before sending it, along with the exchange agreement, to Kammarkollegiet. Kammarkollegiet will consider your claim and then contact you.

Go to Kammarkollegiet’s webpage about terms and conditions and claim notifications

Insurance certificate

Your insurance certificate is sent to you by email together with the decision if your application is approved.The certificate clearly states your insurance period.
The certificate also shows the telephone number to the international assistance company Falck Global Assistance. Call the number if you need assistance quickly while abroad.

Falck Global Assistance can be reached by: Phone: +46 85 87 71 749 or E-mail: fga@se.falck.com

When travelling within Europe, the medical part of Student UT will not apply. Instead, you will be covered by the European health insurance. You must therefore always bring a European health insurance card, available from the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (Försäkringskassan), when travelling in Europe.

Student information from the Swedish Social Insurance agency (Försäkringskassan) (external website)

The traineeship is a part of your studies at the University of Gothenburg and must be recognised in the form of either higher education credits or a Diploma Supplement. If the former, the traineeship is usually considered to be part of an internship semester (or equivalent) and higher education credits are awarded accordingly. If the latter, there must be an academic connection between the traineeship and your studies at the University of Gothenburg. The traineeship must be of relevance to the degree you will earn at the University.
Regardless of how the placement is recognised, your degree must not already have been completed at the time of application.

All outbound students within the Erasmus programme are offered to take an online language test before the traineeship period in the language mainly used at the receiving organisation/company.

The intention with the test is to give the students an idea of their language skills. The test is available in many of the languages spoken in the EU countries.

The test is voluntary and the same tool also offers  language courses. The language test and course a are free of charge for students.

It is possible to carry out a traineeship after you have completed your studies. In this case you must apply for the Erasmus traineeship grant while still enrolled as a full time student at the University of Gothenburg.
However, you don't need to be enrolled when carrying out the traineeship, but it has to be completed within 12 months after you have taken the exam).

Note that students who have studied at least one year at the University of Gothenburg have priority in the selection. and that the Applicant must have the intention to take their degree at the University of Gothenburg.

EU (and the university) want to encourage students and staff at universities to choose a greener way to travel within Europe.
Students that have the possibility to “travel green” can n receive 50 extra euro as well as, if the green travel prolongs the journey, receive reimbursement for up to 2 days in each direction.

The green travel reimbursement is only valid from Sweden and to the country of the traineeship and from the country of the traineeship and back to Sweden (or if you are returning to your home country after the traineeship and will travel green to that destination)

You travel green if you go to the country of the traineeship by:
Bike, Bus, Train or Carpooling (a minimum of two students travelling together in a car)
(Boat, car Motorcycle or plane are not considered to be green travel)

Yes, but the total duration of all student mobility activities – including both studies and traineeship – may not exceed 360 days per cycle (first, second and third cycle).

Students who have special needs and/or have children (the child does not have to accompany the exchange) can receive extra support. If this support does not cover incurred costs, you can also apply for Erasmus inclusion support.

In cases where you as a student need educational support or special adaptations during your time abroad you have the opportunity to seek a special grant for additional costs that may arise. “Additional costs” refers to the extra costs that will affect the department or individual students and that are not financed in other ways, for example:

• transport
• teaching materials
• accommodation
• Assistant / companions
• medical follow-up, physiotherapy
• medical examination in the host country

Note that the grant only applies to students with permanent disabilities or illness.

To apply for this grant, please contact erasmustrainee@gu.se at the International Centre.