The Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window is designed to foster institutional co-operation in the field of higher education between the European Union and Third-countries through a mobility scheme addressing student and academic exchanges for the purpose of studying, teaching, training and research. It aims at mutual enrichment and better understanding between the European Union and Third-Countries, through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills at higher education level.

Eligible organisations

Beneficiaries / applicants must be a legal person and be a university or higher education institution (providing courses at the undergraduate and/or graduate level of higher education leading to a qualification recognised by the competent authorities in their own country; they may be called a “University” or bear some other relevant name (e.g. “Polytechnic”, “College”, “Institute”, etc). Institutions preparing students for foreign degrees (e.g. those operating as a branch or under a franchising agreement) are not eligible for support.

Activities must take place in one of the eligible countries covered by this Call. There are three groups of eligible countries:
- The 27 member States of the European Union or European Candidate countries and EEA countries listed in the call:
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Turkey United Kingdom

- Third-countries as listed in the each of the individual geographical and country windows which include e.g. the Southern and Eastern neighbouring area and Russia, the Middle East region, the Central Asian republics, African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, Western Balkans region, Asia
region and India, and Latin America region: Brazil, Chile and Mexico.

For the details on the eligibility criteria please see the call text and consult your national contact point.

Specific conditions

Specific conditions are laid out in the Call for Proposals, which is available for download at the see-science.eu document service and the website of the External Cooperation Window.

Figures for expected minimum number of individual mobility flows and estimated maximum amounts foreseen to cover the organisation and implementation of these mobility activities are given in the call for proposals.
Mobility activities need to cover undergraduates, masters, doctorates, post-doctorate fellowships and academic staff.

The present call for proposals is open to mobility scheme operating in all fields of study. However, based on an analysis of the specific region needs, a list of regional needs in terms of thematic fields of study has been identified for this window. Proposals operating in the following fields could be given priority over proposals operating in other fields provided that they can meet the high quality level requested:

01 Agricultural Sciences
02 Architecture, Urban and Regional Planning
04 Business Studies and Management Sciences
06 Engineering, Technology
09 Languages and Philological Sciences
10 Law
11 Mathematics, Informatics
12 Medical Sciences
13 Natural Sciences
14 Social Sciences

Timetable:

• Deadline for applications is February 15, 2008.
• The Agency plans to announce the award decision by May 2008 (this date is indicative only and depend on the number of applications received).
• Eligible activities, including preparatory activities, can start on July 15, 2008 provided that contracts have been signed.
• Except in cases of "force majeure" duly justified and subject to prior authorisation by the Agency, all individual mobility must start at the latest by the April 1, 2009.
• Deadline for the implementation of all the activities is November 2011.
• Partnerships will have to provide the list of selected students and academic staff, plus a reserve list, to the Agency by December 1, 2008.

Source:
Call for Proposals, website of the External Cooperation Window.