International Office held a Q&A session on 15 September 2022.

If you want to keep up to date on the process for Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility then sign up for our

• Newsletter on KA171

We only send you information regarding Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility (KA171) and we expect to send approximately 12 mails per application year.

Creates opportunities for new collaborations outside the EU/EEA

Within the Erasmus+ programme, you can apply for mobility projects with countries outside the EU, aka partner countries. This part of the Erasmus+ programme is also called “The International Dimension in Erasmus+”, “International Credit Mobility” or KA171. KA171 is open for mobility for both staff and students.

Your role in KA171

Within most Erasmus+ activities it is possible to be either coordinator or partner in a project. Within KA171 AAU will always be the coordinator. This means that AAU will be in charge of implementing the project, managing the funds, and reporting on the project. In other words, being part of KA171 is a somewhat larger commitment than being a partner in another Erasmus+ project.

This means that if you participate in the call and your part of the application becomes funded, you will become the departmental project coordinator for that part of the project. You would then have certain (administrative) responsibilities. Please read more in the section "After granted application"

International Office has registered increasing interest in KA171.

So far five departments have successfully obtained funding.

• 2016: Department of Business and Management.
• 2018: Department of Planning.
• 2019: Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology (several researchers and research groups), and Department of Planning.
• 2020: Department of Architecture, Design, and Media Technology (several researchers and research groups) and Department of Energy Technology (several researchers and research groups).
• 2021: No EU call for applications
• 2022: Department of Architecture, Design, and Media Technology, and Department of Planning.

Previous (sub) projects (excerpt) 

• Cooperation on education and curricula development related to the UN's SDGs
• Strengthening of existing research and/or exchange cooperation by adding mobilities focusing on educational and curricula development.

Purpose with KA171

The KA171 funds allow researchers to boost and further develop existing cooperations that fit in the framework of Erasmus+ Mobility Projects for Higher Education Students and Staff" as described in the Erasmus+ Programme guide.

It's possible to apply for funds for new projects each year (the length of each project can vary but tends to be approximately 36 months).

What can I do with the funds?

• Researchers/lecturers, administrative staff, and/or students can go on mobility to and from AAU.
• The funds cover (part of) the expenses for travel and stay (but not salary).
• The cooperation must include a partner country (that's a non-EU country) and the main purpose of the project must be to further the development in that country/region.

The International Office is in charge of the application process and will guide AAU staff interested in applying.

The application format and the details in funding opportunities are still to be released by EU. However, we expect that AAU can only submit one application. This means that if two or more departments wish to apply for mobility with the same partner country/region all the applications for that country/region will need to be merged into one application. International Office will coordinate and submit the application.

Your contribution to the application

Please note that if you want to apply you will need to provide the academic, describing content specific for your project. The International Office will compile this information and submit it as one application to the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education (UFS).

To be able to provide this description, you need to read the available information documents and budgets.

The International Office will also host an information meeting where we do our best to guide you through this.

What you must know before deciding to apply

Before deciding to apply we strongly advise that you read the ICM Handbook for participating organisations. It will give you a summary of the most important things to remember when applying.

• ICM Handbook for Participating Organisations 

Part of something bigger

Your Project Should Aim to Help Develop in the Partner Country/Countries You Apply for

The EU considers KA171 as the foreign policy instrument of Erasmus+. This means that UFS and the Commision pay special attention to the projects being of particular benefit to the partner countries.

Hence, to optimize your chances for obtaining funding, you need to be

• strategic with your application and usually applying for a few well-chosen partner countries and institutions works better than applying broadly.
• In general, you should not expect to receive full funding of your projects. And for countries like USA, Canada, Brazil, Australia (and more), it is common not to receive funding at all. This is because the budgets for these countries are both very popular and very small.
• Please also note that the UFS is obligated to distribute funds according to geographical balance which influences the distribution of funding.

National budget call 2022 KA171

• National Budget Call 2022

We recommend that you only establish KA171 projects with known partners. And that you start by applying for staff exchange to establish better knowledge and trust with these partners.

Finally, an application for KA171 is not a guarantee to receive funding. So if student and staff exchange is your main interest, please consider if an ordinary bilateral agreement for exchange suits your needs better. You can read more about that on International Exchange Agreements.

Timeline for KA171 2023

Below you'll find the timeline for the 2023 call.

• 15 September 2022 9.00 to 10.30: Q&A session for AAU staff who are interested in KA171 and who haven't yet participated in the Key Action. Sign up for Q&A Session.
• Until 26 October 2022: Ask yourself if any of your ongoing activities with non-EU countries would be suitable for and benefit from travel and individual support funds from this project. If yes, start talking to your contact persons to agree if and what you will apply for (mobility for staff, students, or both).
• 27 October: Deadline let the International Office know that you wish to be part of the 2023 application to KA171. Send us an email at internationaloffice@aau.dk and remember to include information on the countries and institutions you will be applying for. Please also remember to include approval from your Head of Department (and, if applicable, Head of Section). This could be as simple as an email with their ok. Please note that without their explicit approval the International Office will unfortunately not be able to include your contribution to the AAU application.
• 3 November: Those who expressed their interest in taking part in the application will receive information on their overall interest and whether they need to co-write their application with someone else.
• Early November: You’ll receive an invitation for a meeting giving you the specifics regarding the 2023 call procedure
• Sometime between mid-November and mid-December: International Office participates in information meeting held by UFS
• Sometime between mid-November and mid-December:  Information meeting specifically about the 2023 call.
• 16 January 2023: Deadline for sending your project descriptions to International Office at internationaloffice@aau.dk 
• 17 January to 22 February 2023: The International Office clarifies any uncertainties in project descriptions, mobility types, and numbers with you and enters the data in the official application form.
• 23 February: The International Office applies on behalf of AAU.

If your part of the application for funding for Erasmus outside Europe receives funding, you will be responsible for a number of processes. These include but are not limited to:

• Signing the Interinstitutional Agreement with the Higher Educational Institutions in the partner countries you received funding for. The International Office will fill out the templates for you but you need to help secure the signature from the relevant person at the partner intistutions.
   
• Obtaining signatures for the Interinstitutional Agreement can take a long time. So we encourage you to start talks on the agreement immediately after the application has been submitted (who at the partner institution should sign it, how long does this process usually take, etc.). However, please only sign the agreement if you receive information that your project has been funded.
   
• (Facilitating) signature of Learning Agreement for incoming students and interns.
   
• (Facilitating) signature of Mobility Agreements and Certificate of Attendance for incoming staff
   
• Academic guidance and nomination of outgoing interns (in cooperation with the Study Board)
   
• Academic guidance and nomination of outgoing students (in cooperation with the Study Board)
   
• Provide data for interim and final reports.