Bilateral Agreements
Bilateral mobilities allow students to go outside the EU. The study period is organized solely pursuant to valid bilateral agreements concluded between MENDELU and an institution abroad.
Conditions
- the student must be enrolled in an accredited study program at MENDELU (bachelor’s or master’s study program)
- the student has adequately completed at least the first year of study at the university (full-time, combined and distance learning).
- the duration of the study stay is at least 1 months (30 days)/a maximum of 12 months. the time spent by travel is not included.
- the student must complete at least 3 specialized subjects.
- the student was selected in a duly announced selection procedure
- the study stay is implemented only on the basis of valid bilateral agreement concluded between MENDELU and a foreign institution
- the student must be enrolled appropriately for studies at the faculty through which the stay is being carried out for the entire duration of the trip
- trips to the student’s country of origin are not possible at MENDELU (only as a zero grant, i.e. without entitlement to a scholarship)
- repeated study stays are possible, however, due to the limited financial resources reserved for this activity, they are considered mobilities with a lower preference in the selection process
- On the basis of a bilateral agreement between MENDELU and a partner institution abroad – the student participating in a study period abroad through a bilateral agreement is exempt from paying tuition at the partner university.
- Freemover – In case the student leaves abroad under the “freemover” status, a bilateral agreement need not be signed between the sending and the receiving institutions. The student may organize the study abroad individually as a private activity, in which case the International Relations Office shall not provide any logistic or administrative support to the student. The freemoving student must arrange the approval of both the receiving and the sending university.
The scholarship covers:
- A) subsistance fee of CKZ 20,000/month regardless the destination. After the first month the amount of the scholarship is calculated as follows:
| 1 – 7 days | CZK 0 |
| 8 – 20 days | ½ scholarship, i.e. CZK 10,000 |
| 21 – 30 days | CZK 20,000 |
- B) travel grant from 10,000 to 25,000 CZK according to the destination (click on detailed list)
- C) The scholarship is limited to a maximum amount of 60,000 CZK, plus travel expenses. If a student goes to mobility within the given study program more times, the individual scholarships are added up, while their sum may not exceed the amount of 100 thousand CZK.
- The scholarship is paid out in Czech crowns pursuant to the Financial Agreement. Any costs exceeding this amount shall be borne by the student. The student can also search for offers of government scholarships in the selected country.
- In case the scholarship exceeds the amount of CZK 50,000, payment will be made in two instalments – one at the beginning of the internship, one in the middle taking into consideration payment due date.
- The amount of the scholarship to be granted is subject to the fulfillment of the conditions specified in the financial agreement and depends also on the decision of the Vice-Rector for International and Public Affairs. It may be redused based on the university budget.
- If any of the above conditions are not met, a refund may be required.
How to apply
- usually twice a year:
- January (1st round) – with validity for the next academic year (i.e. SP that takes place in January 2024, shall be valid for the academic year 2024/25 beginning in September 2024)
- May (2nd round) – for the SS of the present academic year (shall take place only if sufficient funds are available)
- the SP includes: filing application and passing language exam
- read information on the University website
- contact the international relations officer of his/her faculty and ask about possibilities, conditions and dates of the SP
- carefully consider the selection of the partner university/college abroad (see below)
- fill in an electronic application through the UIS (Student´s portal → My studies – My study abroad – Submit exchange programme application)
- the selection of colleges/universities to be entered into the application (maximum of 3 institutions in the maximum of 2 languages of instruction) must be carefully considered
- we recommend that the student thoroughly go through all available sources of information:
- list of partner institutions
- final reports from mobilities (UIS – Public information portal → Further information about MENDELU → Study information – Reports about the abroad placements)
- websites of partner universities and colleges
- Erasmus+ Days, an event organized by the Department of International Relations and Internationalization (“DIRI”) and the Erasmus Student Network (“ESN”)
- when choosing an institution we recommend taking into account:
- language of study (instruction)
- suitable study subjects:it is advisable to pay attention to the information about whether the cooperation with the institution concerns the whole institution or its particular section; in case a particular section of the institution is mentioned (faculty, department), you would most probably be able to register only (or mainly) the subjects taught at that faculty or department
- the student must take minimum of 3 specialised subjects (i.e. those related to his/her study programme)
- it is advisable to consider in which category the subjects studied abroad will be recognized at MENDELU (compulsory, compulsory-optional, optional)
- the student can get up to 30 points in the SP for the selection of subjects corresponding to his/her study specialisation (see below)
- place and practical considerationsit is advisable to verify the amount of the scholarship provided toward the stay (find out how expensive the place is from final reports in the UIS or info materials of the university/college concerned)
- the student may enter 3 different colleges/universities in his/her application in the order of preference, within 2 different languages of instruction
- each student competes with all the other students who chose the same study language and the same colleges/universities in the SP
- applicants who:
- do not present themselves for the language examination shall be excluded, too
- the successful applicants shall be assigned one college/university at which they shall study (there are no pre-set minimum points that the student must achieve in order to be placed at a certain college/university; the success depends on the performance of the group of applicants competing for the placement and on the funds available)
- the participants to the SP applying in two languages of instruction shall be assigned only one college/university upon processing the results
- in the case of two applicants with the same college/university on a different position in their list of preferences, who have a different number of points, the placement shall be assigned to the applicant who obtained higher number of points, not the applicant who has the institution on the higher position in his/her list of preferences
- should the applicant fail to obtain a placement in any of the colleges/universities in his/her list of preferred institutions, the student shall be included into the standby list for the study language concerned (or, as the case may be, to the list for both the languages in which he/she failed)
- substitutes may be addressed with an additional offer of study abroad in the order according to the standby list (sometimes this may happen several months after the termination of the SP)
| content | points |
|---|---|
| study results (average) | max. 30 points |
| language knowledge (20 points written test + 10 points interview) | max. 30 points |
| correct selection of study courses in the Learning Agreement in accordance with specialization (preliminary Learning Agreement) | max. 30 points |
| participation in Buddy System and activity in ESN MENDELU | max. 10 points |
| maximum for an application | 100 points |
- each applicant can follow the development of his point score (partial results) as well as the final results of the SP in his application profile in UIS
- the final results of the SP will be published according to the schedule
- fill in an electronic application through the UIS (Student´s portal → My studies – My study abroad – Submit exchange programme application)
- details about filling an electronic application can be found in the UIS documentation (only in Czech; Svazek 2 – Student: kapitola 4 – Zahraniční studium)
- annexes to the application:
- motivation letter addressed to the IRO
- preliminary Learning Agreement (list of subjects you wish to study at selected universities/colleges); Learning Agreement Proposal for FBE students
- application statuses and attributes:
| Status/attribute | What does it mean? | Options for a change of status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| in process | the student works with the application the application is not considered filled at this stage | the next step is usually closing, i.e. filling the application | |
| closed | the application was filled in the electronic form and now, it has to be filled in the printed form with annexes | can be cancelled in case it was closed too early, you can ask the faculty IRO for a change of status to “in process” until the collection of applications is finished | |
| cancelled | the application shall not be included into the SP but it shall be kept in the system it is not possible to file a new application instead of the cancelled one within the same SP | in case it was cancelled by mistake, you can ask the faculty IRO for a change of status to “in process” until the collection of applications is finished | |
| completness | no | the application has not been subject to the final check at the faculty IRO; in particular, the study results have not been updated | as soon as the study average is updated and all annexes are checked, the completeness shall be set to “yes” |
| yes | the application has gone through the final check at the faculty IRO, the study results and awarded points have been updated the number of points for circumstances in the application is final now; this status is usually reached shortly before the language exam only a completed application shall be further dealt with within the SP | points the student gets by passing the language exam shall be added to the application | |
| failed to appear | indicates the application where the applicant did not attend the test or interview (as part of the language exam) such application shall be excluded from further process |
- all students who want to go abroad as part of the bilateral agreements program must pass a language test (language certificates or other tests are not accepted)
- the language exam can be taken in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian
- it is at the B2 level
- consists of a written and oral part
- if the student passed the language exam in the past, he/she might get it recognized: the language exam is recognized up to 3 years back
- the student has to apply for recognition at the faculty when submitting the printed application
- Written test:
- consists of 40 partial tasks (each task is given 0.5 points) and is divided into several activities using various testing methods (answer selected from a menu, semi-open answer, created answer, the transformation of information, matching, supplementing, completion of text etc.)
- areas to be tested: vocabulary, grammar, reading with comprehension and language functions, i.e. use of the language for completing a practical task
- written tests are taken via the UIS – students who successfully applied to the SP shall get all the information by e-mail
- in order to pass the test, you must give at least 26 correct answers of the total 40, and thus obtain 13 points
- time assigned: 45 minutes plus 5 minutes for handing out and check
- discarded materials are published here; their printed form is available for free at DIRI (on racks near the offices)
- Oral exam:
- after taking the written test, students sign in the rosters to the oral exam with individual teachers
- dates and times of examinations must be observed
- the oral part consists of an interview in duration of 7-10 minutes
- in order to pass the exam, the student must get at least 6 points out of 10
Before mobility
- after the announcement of the selection process results, the list of nominated students including their basic data shall be sent to the institutions abroad by the DIRI officer for study stays, from whom the student shall receive an e-mail confirming the dispatch of nomination
- the nominations are sent to the institutions abroad according to their deadlines
- after the nomination, the student should receive an e-mail from the institution abroad, confirming receipt of the nomination, which does not necessarily mean admission of the student to study (there are usually additional administrative formalities in line with the instructions of the institution abroad)
- the nomination of the student is binding; in the event that the student needs to cancel the mobility for serious reasons, he/she must follow the procedure described below
- at some schools, the Learning Agreement is also part of the application (hereinafter LA); however, we recommend sending it straight away even if it is not a mandatory part; the student will thus avoid complications caused by time delays (more information about the document can be found below)
- it is necessary for the student to:
- find out the deadline and requirements for submitting an application on the website of a foreign university, usually the student receives these data together with other information from the foreign university
- fill the application – if the given institution does not have its own application form, the MENDELU form can be used, the application can also be online (sometimes it is in both forms – “paper” and online)
- indicate the period of stay in the application – it is enough to indicate at least a range of months, i.e. September – January; the stay must last at least 1 month (30 days), maximum 12 months
- if a foreign institution also requires a so-called Transcript of Records (hereinafter ToR) with the application, this is a list of subjects completed at MENDELU, which the student obtains from his/her study department (the university may also require other documents)
- the student can find confirmation of the level of language knowledge (level B2) in his storage at UIS after completing the language test – in case of problems, please contact Kamila Hercová (kamila.hercova@mendelu.cz)
- the student sends the application with attachments to the foreign institution according to the instructions of the foreign university, ev. the documents can be sent by IRO officer directly
- as soon as the foreign institution receives the application, the sometimes very demanding administrative process of the student’s admission begins – the foreign institution should contact the student and send him all available information about the study and further discuss with the student organizational matters related to the stay; it is already necessary to pay attention to accommodation, which can take up to several weeks to arrange
- the nomination for the study stay is binding
- if the student is forced to cancel his/her nomination for serious reasons, he/she is obliged to do so immediately via the form Notification of withdrawal of foreign mobility at UIS (https://is.mendelu.cz/auth/kc/kc.pl?;formular=1;zalozka=novy;podzalozka=hledam_reseni), which is then automatically sent to DIRI and the faculty
- at the same time, the student is obliged to send an apologetic e-mail to the foreign coordinator abroad (with a copy also to the DIRI Study Stay Coordinator) explaining the reason for canceling his/her stay
- withdrawing from the nomination may affect the future possibility of inclusion in the program
- the study period may only be organized on the basis of a trilateral Learning Agreement (“LA”)
- the student must succesfully finish at least 3 specialized subjects (i.e. those related to his/her study programme, compulsory, compulsory-optional, optional);
- the LA must be signed before the departure to the study stay
- the LA shall be signed in the following order: student, person in charge at the faculty arranged through the IRO officer, coordinator abroad
- by the signature of the LA, the person in charge confirms that he/she agrees with the student’s study plan and that the subjects specified in the LA shall be recognized by MENDELU upon arrival, provided they were successfully passed (see below)
- the MENDELU LA form shall be used; in case the institution abroad has its own form, the student shall fill in both
- offer of study courses is available on the website of the institution abroad
- certain institutions send their catalogues to the nominated students by e-mail
- negotiation of the LA may take several months (especially over the summer); therefore we recommend starting the process sufficiently in advance (ideally together with the application, see above)
- the LA must be complete (i.e. confirmed both by MENDELU and the receiving institution) before signing the Financial Agreement (see below)
- part of the new form is also its changes (Changes to original LA = During the Mobility part):
- you do not complete this part before your mobility
- you can also download the document separately (see bellow)
- guidelines for completion of LA and faculty requirements can be found on faculty websites
- confirms the student’s admission to a university/college abroad
- acceptance may be in the form of a formal letter or an e-mail
- in case the recipient university does not issue its own Letter of Acceptance, the student may use the MENDELU form (the student shall send it to the receiving university coordinator for confirmation)
- the acceptance letter shall contain the name of the student, name of receiving institution and dates of the planned study (exact dates from – to, incl. the orientation week, welcome activities etc.)
- in case the acceptance letter does not contain exact dates of the stay, the student shall also submit the printed schedule of study in the semester
- after receiving the Letter of Acceptance, the student shall:
- have the mobility entered into the UIS by the IRO officer of his/her faculty (he/she shall submit the Letter of Acceptance with dates of stay); the icon for bank connection and Checklists shall be displayed in the UIS afterwards
- enter the number of CZK account into the UIS (via Student´s portal → My study abroad)
- arrange for the Travel Proposal (UIS – eAgenda – Trips abroad), which shall be needed for the insurance
- on the basis of the Letter of Acceptance, the student will be issued the Financial Agreement, and the amount of the scholarship will be calculated
- serves for submitting documents for the study stay abroad (some fields are just for ticking and they indicate if the condition was met or not – for example Bank Account number, EU-Survey, LA and ToR match)
- the application can be accessed at the UIS Student Portal (after the student has registered the mobility into the UIS on the basis of the Letter of Acceptance – see above)
- the mandatory documents (i.e. documents that all students must upload into the application) are as follows:
- before departure
- Letter of acceptance (approved by the DIRI officer for study stays in the app)
- Learning agreement (faculty approves)
- proof of payment of “MENDELU” insurance (approved by DIRI)
- upon return
- Confirmation of study period (approved by DIRI)
- Transcript of Records (approved by faculty)
- before departure
- other documents are required only in case of extension of study period, changes in LA, etc. (see below)
- the student uploads completed documents into the app (i.e. with all the signatures etc.)
- uploaded documents are automatically indicated as unapproved, until they are checked and approved by the person in charge
- all the Checklists documents must be approved by the person in charge (DIRI officer for study periods or faculty IRO officer)
- the student can work on the document until it is approved
- the student shall conclude the Financial Agreement with the DIRI officer for study stays no later than 2 weeks prior to the planned departure
- the student must make an advance appointment to sign the FA
- all students will receive information about signing the FA to their e-mail addresses
- before signing the FA, the student shall upload the following completed (see above) documents into Checklists:
- Letter of Acceptance
- Learning Agreement
- receipt of MENDELU insurance payment
- in case the student has not the bilaterally confirmed Learning Agreement, he/she may appear for signing the FA; however, the scholarship shall be paid only after the LA is completed
- the FA must be signed in person prior to the departure
- the student must not depart for the mobility without the duly signed FA and all the required documents
- scholarship shall be paid to the student after he/she signed the FA
- he scholarship shall be paid by the home institution no later than on 1st day of the mobility
- the scholarship shall be transferred to the CZK bank account as registered in the UIS (see above)
During the stay
- the LA may be modified upon arrival abroad if necessary
- the student shall prepare a new study plan, so called Changes to Original Learning Agreement (Changes / Changes to LA = During the Mobility Part of LA), taking into account his/her specialization, and upon potential consultation with the faculty coordinator and on condition of passing at least 3 specialized subjects
- guidelines for completion of Changes and faculty requirements can be found on faculty websites
- the student shall sign the Changes to LA, have them approved first by the faculty coordinator, then by the coordinator abroad
- the student shall upload the Changes to the UIS Checklists (see above) within 30 days of the start of the semester at the institution abroad
- the MENDELU form shall be used; in case the institution abroad has its own form, the student shall fill in both
- is possible only upon agreement with the sending and receiving institutions
- the student shall not be awarded funds for the extension automatically; it depends on the sending institution whether it shall grant the scholarship for the extension of the stay
- extension without entitlement to scholarship (zero-grant student):
- the student may apply for the extension at any time during the stay through the Application for Extension
- the student shall not obtain financial support; however, the status of an exchnage student and ensuing benefits (e.g. waiver of the tuition fee at the institution abroad etc.) shall remain
- extension of the stay by an entire semester with financial support (possible only in the WS):
- the student may apply for the extension through the Application by 30 October of the academic year concerned
- the student shall have the application confirmed by the partner coordinator and then send it by e-mail to the IRO of the home faculty for approval
- the approved document shall be referred by the faculty IRO to the Rectorate DIRI for the approval of funding
- in case there are sufficient funds, the DIRI officer for study stays shall approve the application and shall inform the student, the partner coordinator, as well as the faculty IRO coordinator
- the change in the total amount of scholarship must be specified in the Amendment to the FA sent to the student after the delivery of the Transcript of Records for the previous semester and of the LA (see above) for the next semester
- extension of the stay with financial support (shorter than one semester):
- is only possible for reasons related to the study (e.g. longer exam period than expected etc.)
- the student shall contact the DIRI officer for Erasmus+ study stays with request to extend the mobility no later than 1 month before the originally planned end of the stay
- other administrative matters shall be discussed between the student and the coordinator on an individual basis
- it is possible after the agreement of the student with the sending institution and is solved by an addendum to the ÚS and a proportional reduction of the scholarship
- if the student does not comply with the minimum length of stay, i.e. 1 month (30 days), he/she must return the entire scholarship
After the stay
- is a main proof of completion of the study period
- we recommend getting the Confirmation before departure home
- the Confirmation must contain the exact dates of stay (scholarship isawarded according to the dates)
- must be confirmed by the coordinator abroad no earlier than one week before the end of the mobility
- the student shall submit the ORIGINAL to the DIRI within 14 days of the end of mobility, possibly sent by interational coordinator baroad by e-mail directly to DIRI
- a scan of the Confirmation shall be uploaded by the student to Checklists in the UIS
- in case the length of the stay is shorter or longer in comparison with the period set out in the FA, the accounting of the scholarship must be made and a signature of the Amendment to the FA must be arranged with the DIRI officer for study stays
- shall be uploaded into Checklists no later than within 4 weeks of the end of mobility
- the ToR must correspond to the LA or, as the case may be, to the Changes in the names of subjects and their credit values (eventually in codes if the receiving university uses them)
- the student may use the MENDELU form
- the student is also obliged to:
- fill in the Final Report in UIS (Student Portal → My Study Abroad) within 30 calendar days after the end of the mobility – the report mainly serves as a source of information for other students
- record that all documents have been delivered and are complete
- in accordance with the Directive on recognition of results of study and traineeships abroad within Erasmus+ (in Czech only), the student is obliged to have the results of study abroad recognized no later than within 7 days after obtaining the ToR
- please consult the IRO coordinator of your faculty and your Study Department on the recognition procedure; all the information is available on the faculty websites
2/2017 – Directive on recognition of results of study and traineeships abroad within Erasmus+ (in Czech only)
- in case the student fails to pass 3 specialised subjects (minimum), he/she is obliged to return a proportionate part of the scholarship
- in case the student breached the conditiond speciafied in the FA he/she is obliged to return a proportionate part or the entire amount of the scholarship
- if the student fails to deliver the required documents by the deadline set by the sending institution, fails to take the compulsory on-line language test before and after the mobility, he/she shall return the financial support in full
- the amount of the refund shall be specified by the DIRI officer for study stays
Contact
Ms. Katerina Brzokoupilova
building X
Office hours: Mo, Wed, Thr 9-13 by appointment only