Erasmus+ Worldwide Study Mobility

Description of the Mobility

Erasmus International Credit Mobility Program (ICM)/ Erasmus Worldwide extends beyond Europe, allowing for mobility from and to other parts of the world. Program Countries are those countries participating fully in the Erasmus program. Türkiye is one of the 33 Program Countries. Partner Countries cover the rest of the world outside the European Union. List of partner and program countries can be found here.

Koç University has successfully has received funding to support students studying abroad in partner countries since 2016.

Students and staff from our partner universities have the opportunity to fund their exchanges at Koç University considering that they fulfill the requirements explained in the following sections.

The main goals of this program are:

• To offer research and study development opportunities to students and young researchers from partner country universities.

• To achieve sustained improvements in knowledge and research skills.

• To forge and deepen lasting links between KU and our partner universities, thus enhancing transnational academic cooperation.

• To improve participants’ language and cultural skills, promoting mutual enrichment and understanding.

In the framework of the Erasmus Program, all mobility activities are conditional upon the signature of an inter-institutional agreement between the sending and the receiving universities before the start of the mobility.

Duration of Mobility

Mobility is conducted according to the minimum and maximum duration of time determined by the European Commission. Study mobility should be minimum 3 months, maximum 12 months. Due to budget restrictions, Koç University can host partner university students for a semester.

A student may receive Erasmus+ mobility grants for a maximum of 12 months in any study cycle (Bachelor/ Master/PhD).

Extension of Mobility

Extension of exchange semester could only happen if the following conditions are met:

• Extension can only take place if there is available student quota/budget for partner university.

• Semester extension can only take place from Fall to Spring within the same academic year. The extension is not possible for the next academic year.

• The student should inform home university and Koç University OIP Inbound Mobility Team regarding the extension request in early November the latest in Fall Semester.

• The student who already received Erasmus ICM grant cannot extend his/her term as a “zero-grant” participant. Mobility should be fully-funded or fully zero-grant. If Koç University does not have enough budget left for a partner country, extension is not approved. (IMPORTANT: Rule for participating in the program as a “Zero-grant participants” is different from the extension rule as a zero-grant participant. It is possible to participate in the Erasmus ICM program as a zero-grant student, but the student accepts not to receive grant for the exchange duration in the beginning of the process; right after the selection procedure by home university. Student should note that they are still required to submit all of the program documents to Koc University OIP even though they participate in the program as a “zero-grant” student.)

• Extension requests should be evaluated at the same time and students should be placed based on their initial placement score.

Interruption of Mobility

• Mobility should be completed without any interruption. For study mobility semester breaks and official holidays are not counted as interruption.

• In case the mobility is interrupted due to a force majeure*, the grant is paid just for the actualized period of the mobility if the force majeure is documented.

• If the mobility is interrupted without any force majeure, the mobility gets cancelled and the grant already paid to the participating student has to be fully refunded (70% of the total grant) to Koç University by the student.

• If there is a “Force Majeure” situation, the student should immediately get in touch with Koç University OIP and OIP will seek Turkish National Agency’s advice and approval on the matter. If Turkish National Agency approves the situation as “Force Majeure”, then OIP will inform the student and the student will be able to return home before the end of the mobility period.

*Force Majeure is an unforeseeable exceptional situation or event beyond the participant’s control and not attributable to error or negligence on their part and prevents participant from fulfillment of liability under the Agreement

Partners & Quotas

If your home university is a partner in Erasmus+ Worldwide Program with Koc University, Exchange Programs Office of your home institution can contact us through partner@ku.edu.tr for the most up-to-date quota information.

Koç University Colleges and Graduate Schools have their own web pages. Students may find the details regarding programs offered by Colleges/Graduate School via the pages below:

KU Undergraduate Programs

KU Graduate Programs

Requirements for Partner Universities

Partner universities are required to form a selection committee that has minimum 3 main members and minimum 2 substitute members. Partner universities are required to share a copy of the “letter of authorization of the selection committee” with KU OIP upon forming the committee. Selection Committee is responsible of reviewing all the applications and making the final selection.

Partner universities are required to run separate application calls for each mobility type of Erasmus+ Worldwide/ICM. Partner universities are required to share the screen shots/copy of the “call for application” for all types of mobility (i.e. student, academic staff, and administrative staff) with KU OIP.

The announcement of each application call should be distributed through the university mass communication channels transparently and equally minimum 20 days before the applications begin. Applications should be collected at least for 15 days, allowing applicants to provide answers to predetermined criteria. The program announcement should include the following criteria:

The number of exchange slots with/without Erasmus+ Grant at Koç University
The academic departments that are open for application
The selection criteria and required documents
Erasmus Grant Amount (Individual/Travel Support)
Lower priority will be given to those who have already participated in and Erasmus+ program
Selection criteria that would result in additional grant or deduction from the grant should be stated in the call for applications (the points below are suggested by KU, home university can implement a different pointing system):

Disabled students receive extra 5 points if substitutive documents are provided

Students who want to participate in mobility programs in their birth country receive -5 points

Partner universities are required to submit the “Appointment Letter and Selection Committee Report for Students and Staff” to KU OIP once every selection period is finalized at home university.

Roadmap and Requirements for Erasmus+ ICM Partners in Student Mobility

Selection & Nomination & Application

Who is Eligible to Apply?

• Students must be registered in an Erasmus+ Worldwide (ICM) partner university and enrolled in studies leading to a recognized degree or other recognized tertiary level qualification (up to and including the level of doctorate).

• The student must not have been on an Erasmus exchange for more than a total of 12 months per study cycle (Bachelor’s, Master’s and research studies are counted separately), including the time period applied for in this application.

• Undergraduate students must have completed at least two regular semesters (remedial and prep excluded) with a minimum GPA of 2.20. Graduate students must have completed at least one regular semester (remedial and prep excluded) with a minimum GPA of 2.50).

Selection

Suggested Evaluation criteria for Students (undergraduate and graduate degree):

• Outstanding academic record, according to the GPA (min. 2.2 for undergrads, min. 2.5 for grads in 4.0 scale required for application) in the students Transcripts of Records

• Master’s students who do not have master qualifications should provide the Transcripts of Records from their undergraduate studies.

Suggested Evaluation criteria for PhD students:• Research Proposal feasibility and contribution to professional and academic development of the candidate.

Important Notes & Suggestions to Partner Universities

• The first part of the selection process will be undertaken at the students’ and staff members’ home universities and these selection processes will be organized by these institutions according to their own regulations, but always taking into account the evaluation criteria and the following Erasmus Charter principles: “Respect in full the principles of non-discrimination and to promote and ensure equal access and opportunities to mobile participants from all backgrounds, in particular disadvantaged or vulnerable groups. Apply a selection process that is fair, transparent and documented, ensuring equal opportunities to participants eligible for mobility.”

• Partner universities are advised to implement the following when running a selection process:

◦ In addition to academic achievement and language score, if the applicant has benefited from another Lifelong Learning Program or Erasmus mobility scheme while pursuing the same level of academic degree, 10 points will be subtracted for each and every activity utilized (regardless of whether internship or education) when calculating academic achievement and language score averages.

◦ Disabled students receive extra 5 points if substitutive documents are provided.

◦ Students who want to participate in mobility programs in their birth country receive -5 points.

Nomination & Application

Partner HEIs should send the “Appointment Letter and Selection Committee Report for Students” to the Office of International Programs at Koç University. Partner university should also nominate their selected students via KU OIP’s online nomination & application system via https://kuapp.ku.edu.tr Partner universities will receive the login credentials to log into the system by KU OIP before the start of the Nomination & Application period.

Once the students are nominated by the home university, the students will receive an automatic notification from KU OIP to complete their application via the online application system: https://kuapp.ku.edu.tr/

In case some grants are not exhausted after the first round of application, a second round of application will be announced to partner university students by the International Office of the Partner University.

Application Documents

The following documents should be submitted by the partner university student to KU via https://kuapp.ku.edu.tr

Document Type	Mandatory/ If applicable
Complete and Most Up-to-Date Transcript of Records Received by the Home University	Mandatory
A valid English Language Proficiency Certificate (taken within the last two years and minimum B2 level)	Mandatory
Identification Card Copy or Passport’s ID Page Copy	Mandatory
Home University Confirmation of Application	Mandatory
Special Needs Statement & Proving documents	If applicable

Before Mobility Procedure & Documents

• Learning agreement for Study (only Before Mobility part): Students have to fill in all the parts on the Learning Agreement electronically.

A hand-written Learning Agreement is not accepted by the Erasmus+ Committee.

Parties have to sign (full signature, not just typing the name) the document before submitting it to our Office.

Student: Yourself as the student on mobility

Responsible Person at the Sending Institution: Your mobility coordinator at your home university.

Academic Coordinator at the Receiving Institution: Your KU Exchange coordinator – please find the list of KU exchange coordinators here.

We will get the signature of the Responsible Person at the Receiving Institution (Assoc. Prof. Bülent Kılıç) once you have submitted the LA During to us; therefore, please note that you don’t need to send him an e-mail for the signature.

As per the Erasmus program rules, filled-by-hand documents are not acceptable. You can get wet, digital, or electronic signatures for the documents; all are applicable and acceptable.

To see how to fill out a learning agreement, please check here.

• Grant Agreement: A draft version of the Grant Agreement is shared with the student by OIP. The student is obliged to duly-sign each page of the agreement and duly-sign the signatory part of two copies of the agreement. The student is then asked to submit 2 signed copies to OIP.

• International Health and Accident Insurance: Students are required to have possession of adequate insurance throughout the mobility period according to Erasmus program rules.

• Students with special needs should follow the steps described in the Roadmap here

In order to provide you with more information and more support prior to your arrival to Koc University, we also organize pre-arrival webinars.

Those webinars include the following topics:

Visa, Residence Permit Application, Health Insurance
Arrival to KU
Housing
Studying at KU (academic information on the semester calendar, courses and course enrollment, early finals, etc.)
Mentorship Program
Living Costs
Weather

The webinars are based on the Incoming Exchange Student Guide. Therefore, you may have a look at the guide for further information.

After Mobility Procedure & Documents

Learning Agreement During Mobility: If there are any changes in your Before Mobility courses, please fill in the form and get the required signatures. Please note that Table A2 is for the KU courses and Table B2 is for the equivalent courses in your home university and in the event of any course changes, both tables need to be filled in. If you haven’t made any changes on your before mobility courses, please notify us through incoming@ku.edu.tr. The LA During is not required to be filled in if there have not been any changes.

Please do not edit the format of the document (at all) by adding or deleting any tables!

Please make sure to indicate the course codes at Table A2 and B2 as well as the Credit amount.

Parties have to sign (full signature, not just typing the name) the document before submitting it to our Office.

Student: Yourself as the student on mobility.

Responsible Person at the Sending Institution: Your mobility coordinator at your home university.

Academic Coordinator at the Receiving Institution: Your KU Exchange coordinator – please find the list of KU exchange coordinators here.

As per the Erasmus program rules, filled-by-hand documents are not acceptable. You can get wet, digital or electronic signatures for the documents; all are applicable and acceptable.

How To Fill Out Learning Agreement

Learning Agreement After the Mobility: Once your mobility is over, please indicate the final version of your courses on the Learning Agreement – After Mobility part. The courses on Table C need to match with the courses on your KU transcript. In Table D, please , indicate the equivalent courses in your home university.Please do not edit the format of the document by adding or deleting any tables!Please make sure to indicate the course codes at Table C and D as well as the Credit amount and the grades of your taken courses.Parties have to sign (full signature, not just typing the name) the document before submitting it to our Office.

Student: Yourself as the student on mobility.

Responsible Person at the Sending Institution: Your mobility coordinator at your home university.

Academic Coordinator at the Receiving Institution: Your KU Exchange coordinator – please find the list of KU exchange coordinators here.

As per the Erasmus program rules, filled-by-hand documents are not acceptable. You can get wet, digital or electronic signatures for the documents; all are acceptable.

Home University Transcript: This document needs to be issued by your home university in English upon the transfer of all your courses and grades at KU to your home university. Please note that the document has to indicate all of courses you took at KU.

Mobility Tool Online Final Report (EU Survey): At the end of your mobility, European Commission’s Mobility Tool will send you a link for the evaluation survey. Please make sure you check your junk/spam e-mails as well and submit the report in a short time.
Any other obligation inherent to the Erasmus Program and the internal regulations of the sending and receiving institutions.

Required Course Load and Recognition of Courses

• If you are participating in the program for one semester you are obliged to take 30 ECTS credits (15 KU credits).

• If you are participating in the program for two semesters you are obliged to take 60 ECTS credits.

• After your mobility you have to transfer the courses taken at Koç university with their notes and credits (Full Recognition).

Erasmus ICM Grant

Erasmus+ Worldwide Study program provides monthly stipend as well as travel grant to selected participants. Students coming from partner universities receive 800€ per month.

Selected participants also receive travel grant. The calculation is done based on the distance between Koç University and the host city. Calculation is done by Distance Calculator (https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/distance-calculator_en )

Distance	Travel Grant
20-99 km	20 €
100-499 km	180 €
500-1999 km	275 €
2000- 2999 km	360 €
3000-3999 km	530 €
4000- 7999 km	820 €
8000 km an above	1.500 €

Important: These unit costs represent the linear distance between the city where the university of origin and the city where the host university are located. This is calculated automatically by a website indicated by the European Commission and cannot be subject to any change. The financial support allocated to the “travel distance” is the maximum allowed by the Erasmus Program and is intended to contribute to the round trip back between the home and host institutions. In the event that the assigned value is insufficient to pay for the desired trip, the scholarship holder must find other sources of funding. An initial payment will represent 70% of the estimated total amount of the grant. The initial grant is paid in EUR to the students’ name in Yapi Kredi bank at Koç University campus and the student is able to withdraw the amount with his/her passport during the week of arrival. The remaining 30% is paid at the end of the mobility, once the student submits all the required documents to OIP at KU and fills in the online evaluation (EU Survey) sent by the Erasmus Mobility Tool.

Grant Deduction and Repayment

Deductions and/or repayment may apply to students who do not fulfill their responsibilities and/or are unsuccessful. Grant deduction and/or repayment may take place in case of the following:

• When participant completed the 19-11 ECTS course load successfully, 30% of the grant based on total duration of mobility shall be deducted. When participant completed the 10-0 ECTS course load successfully, the grant that has been paid before the mobility shall be refunded by the student.

• If the participant does not complete the required after mobility documents in line with the terms of the agreement, 30% of the grant based on total duration of mobility shall be deducted.

• If the participant does not complete the online final report after mobility, 5% of the grant based on total duration of mobility shall be deducted.

• If a participant fails to submit and complete all the required paperwork to Koc University on time, the participant will be obliged to pay the grant received (70%) back to Koc University.

• If a student leaves the host organization/country for more than 7 days (including weekends, excluding official holidays and breaks), student is not paid for that duration. If the student was paid for those days, then he/she is asked to return that amount to Koc University.

• If a student returns home country before the end of the mobility period and/or before the min. required duration (min. 3 months), then sanctions regarding the Erasmus Worldwide grant will be implemented. If there is a “Force Majeure” situation, student should immediately get in touch with OIP and OIP will seek Turkish National Agency’s advice and approval on the matter. If Turkish National Agency approves the situation as “Force Majeure”, then OIP will inform the student and the student will be able to return home before the end of the mobility period. The student will only receive the grant for valid days of mobility. If the student returns home without getting in touch with OIP first, then the mobility will be considered as invalid and the student will be asked to return the initial grant (70%) back to Koc University.

Zero Grant Students

Students are able to participate in Erasmus Worldwide Study program without receiving a grant. However, it should be noted that the students have to go through the same application & selection procedures and also submit the required documents (before-during-after mobility) to OIP.

Erasmus Disability Grant

• Additional grants are available for students with disabilities and health conditions wishing to participate in an Erasmus placement and where participation would not be possible without extra financial support.

• The allowance is offered when disabilities or health conditions lead to additional mobility costs, which exceed the maximum grant allocations allowed, and which cannot be recovered from other sources. The grant covers approved actual costs.

• Applications for the Erasmus Disability Grant must be submitted to OIP prior to the start of the mobility.

• Student’s application must include a statement from a doctor or other authority confirming the disability or health condition, its severity, the impact on the Erasmus mobility, additional requirements and additional costs to be met. A detailed estimate of costs is required.

• The application should provide information on any other sources of financial support that the student receives and why this is insufficient to cover extra costs.

• If you have any questions please send an e-mail to incoming@ku.edu.tr

• Roadmap for Students with Special Needs

Useful Documents