GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ERASMUS MUNDUS PROGRAMME 2009-2013

1. What is Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013 ?
Erasmus Mundus is a co-operation and mobility Programme in the field of higher education. It aims at enhancing the quality of European higher education and promoting dialogue and understanding between people and cultures through cooperation with third countries. In addition the programme contributes to the development of human resources and the international cooperation capacity of higher education institutions in third countries by increasing mobility between the European Union and these countries.

The name of the Programme comes from Desiderius Erasmus Rotterdamus, a 15th-century Dutch humanist and theologian who studied in the best monastic schools throughout Europe. In his days, he was known as one of the most brilliant students of the time. “Mundus” is the Latin word for “world” and thus stands for the programme’s global outreach.

2. What are the specific objectives of the Programme?
The programme's specific objectives are:
- to promote structured cooperation between higher education institutions and enhance the quality in European higher education with a distinct European added value, attractive both within the European Union and beyond its borders.

- to contribute to the mutual enrichment of societies by developing the qualifications of women/men so that they possess particular skills, are open minded- and internationally experienced. This is achieved through promoting mobility for the most talented students and academics from third countries towards the European Union and vice versa.

- to contribute towards the development of human resources and the international cooperation capacity of higher education institutions in third countries through increased mobility streams between the European Union and those countries.

- to improve accessibility and enhance the profile and visibility of European higher education in the world as well as its attractiveness for third country nationals and citizens of the European Union.

3. Who is responsible for the management of the Programme?
The European Commission is responsible for the running of the Erasmus Mundus Programme (2009-2013). It manages the budget and sets priorities, targets and criteria for the programme. Furthermore, it guides and monitors the general implementation, follow-up and evaluation of the Programme at European level.The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is responsible for the implementation of the Erasmus Mundus Programme. It publishes the specific Calls for Proposals and is responsable for the entire life-cycle of the projects, including the selection, awarding of grants and monitoring.

4. What are the most important documents to be consulted about the Programme?
The Programme Guide contains all the general information about the different actions and the conditions on how to apply for funding.
In addition, Calls for Proposalsare published in order to specify the activities and the budgetary allocations relevant to the call concerned for the specific actions. Applicants should read the Programme Guide in conjunction with the specific Call for Proposals.
For each annual Call, Action 2 Guidelines provide details of the budget and priorities, for the geographical lots covered by Action 2.
The financial and administrative handbook for three Actions (Action 1, Action 2, Action 3 (links), once you have been selected for funding, provides key information regarding the administrative issues. They can be found on the relevant Call for Proposals pages (here for 2010).
The Decision No 1298/2008/EC(link) (OJ 240 19.12.2008, p.83) establishing the Erasmus Mundus Programme 2009-2013, adopted by the European Parliament and Council on 16.12.2008.

5. What type of actions are supported?
The Erasmus Mundus Programme supports three Actions:

ACTION 1- supports

• high-quality joint master courses (Action 1A) and doctoral programmes (Action 1B) offered by a consortium of European and possible third-country HEIs and
•  Scholarships/fellowships for the 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 for research or teaching assignments as part of the joint master programmes

ACTION 2:- supports Partnerships

• with countries covered by the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI), Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI), Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) and
• with countries and territories covered by the Industrialised Countries Instrument.
• including scholarships and fellowships for mobility at a range of academic levels

• Promotion Projects with an international dimension of all aspects of higher education, enhancing the attractiveness of Europe as an educational destination and a centre of excellence at world level.

6. Who can apply for funding?
The Erasmus Mundus Programme 2009-2013 is open to higher education institutions and to any organisation active in the field of higher education and research as well as to students, doctoral candidates, teachers, researchers and university staff (academic and/or administrative) from any part of the world. The funding opportunities are the following:

(A) 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).

(B) Other bodies:
1) 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).

2) Other bodies which could be particularly relevant for the objectives and activities of the Programme:

• Associate 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.

(C) Students and academics
Students in higher education can receive scholarships for Undergraduate studies (Action 2) and Masters studies (Actions 1 and 2);
Doctoral candidates can receive fellowships for Doctoral studies (Actions 1 and 2), Post-doctoral studies (Action 2);
Academics and researchers can receive fellowships for teaching and research periods (Actions 1 and 2);
Other university staff can receive scholarships / fellowships under Actions 2.

7. What does the Erasmus Mundus scholarship cover?

For Action 1 + 2

• Management/administration costs (lump sum)
• Scholarship for individual students, doctorates, academic staff, covering travel/installation contribution, tuition fees, insurance, monthly allowance

For Action 3

• Coverage of real costs based on the principle of co-funding (maximum 75%) of the eligible costs.

8. How does the Programme select the disciplines?
No priorities are set for academic disciplines. However, the proposal must prove its relevance and academic quality (increased importance given to both aspects in award criteria). Certain Action 2 geographical lots set a more limited range of academic disciplines that can be covered by the mobility scheme.

9. What does the term “third-country” mean?
In accordance with Article 2 of the Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013 Programme Decision (No 1298/2008/EC), "third country means a country that is not a European Country".

More concretely, the programme distinguishes three different groups of countries:

• The Members states of the European Union;
• Other countries or potential candidates possibly on the same footing as Member States (this category includes Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo under UNSC Resolution 1244/99, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Turkey and Switzerland);
• Third countries.

The countries under the second category will be considered as "European countries" only if an agreement (or a Memorandum of Understanding or an EEA Joint Committee Decision) establishing the participation of the country concerned in the EM programme is in force by the date of the selection decision. If this is not the case, the country concerned is considered as a third country.

While third-country organisations can participate in and benefit from all three actions of the programme, they can not act as applicants or beneficiaries, unlike organisations from European countries.

The term "third country" has to be understood in a cooperation context where the countries concerned act as "third parties" in an agreement between the European Union and the European countries. This term is by no means related to the so-called "third world".

10. Which countries can participate?
For specific actions, please read the Programme Guide (link).

11. How to find information about the projects already selected under the Programme?
The list of the projects selected under the Programme for each specific Action is published on the website of the Education Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency.

12. Are there national information centres or contact points for the Programme?
Yes, there are the Erasmus Mundus National Contact and Information Points (“National Structures”) in the EU Member States and the EEA-EFTA states as well as the European Union Delegations located in third countries. They give information at national level about the Programme, guide and advice.