Staff mobility
Staff mobility
Funding opportunities exist for all university staff from teaching and administration to take part in further education or training programmes abroad, particularly within Europe. The Viadrina International Affairs department will be happy to advise you on this, whether you wish to take part in language courses or workshops at professional institutions abroad, work shadowing at one of our numerous partner universities, participate in curriculum development (lecturers) or take part in specially organised staff training weeks.
Heide Fest
Erasmus+ Short-Term Continuing Education (EU+)
Staff mobility through Erasmus+ for further training and professional development (STT) in programme countries (EU+) offers a range of benefits: you can exchange ideas at a professional level and gain new perspectives on your work. You have the opportunity to experience the diversity of the European higher education landscape and gain insights into your own field of work from different perspectives. In doing so, you strengthen and expand your skills and deepen your professional networks. Last but not least, you gain international experience and practical skills that are central to your work and professional development.
Who is eligible for funding?
Staff from all departments who have a contractual relationship with Viadrina, including both teaching and administrative staff, e.g.:
- Administration, Library, Student Services, Finance
- Departments and Faculties
- Public Relations and International Affairs
- Technology & Transfer
- Professors and lecturers with a contractual relationship with Viadrina
- PhD students who are employed, e.g. for teaching
- Teaching staff without a teaching grant
- Lecturers with service contracts at Viadrina
- Research staff and trainees
What is funded?
- The chosen activity must be related to your professional development and contribute to your personal and academic growth.
- Funding is available for continuing education and professional development activities at Viadrina’s partner universities, as well as at other foreign universities and institutions (e.g. language schools or training centres) active in the labour market or in the fields of general and vocational continuing education and professional development.
- These must be located in one of the 33 Erasmus+ programme countries. At the same time, the programme country you choose must not be the country in which you have your main residence.
- Research projects with a direct research focus and (passive) participation in conferences are not eligible for funding.
Examples of activity formats:
- Work placements
- Job shadowing
- Study visits
- Involvement in curriculum development (for lecturers)
- Participation in workshops and seminars
- Participation in language courses
You can find training opportunities, for example, at IMOTION. We also share current opportunities, e.g. from our partner universities or some language schools, on the internal websites for Viadrina staff. If you are interested in an Erasmus+ mobility programme but cannot find a suitable offer yourself, please feel free to contact us!
Duration of stay
Funding is available for stays of at least 2 days up to 14 days (excluding travel days). In justified cases and subject to the availability of funds, funding for up to a maximum of 60 days (excluding travel days) is possible.
Information on funding
Erasmus+ funding for Staff Mobility for Training (STT) consists of several components:
(1) Daily allowance (depending on country group and duration of stay)
(2) Travel allowance (depending on distance and mode of travel: ‘Green’ or Standard)
(3) additional funding for travel days, where applicable
(4) special grants, where applicable (for participants with a disability, chronic illness or when travelling with a child)
As university staff funded by Erasmus+ funds should not be better off than staff funded from the budget, we base our calculations not only on your cost plan (accommodation and travel costs) but also on the Federal Travel Expenses Act. To calculate the funding rates, zero-grant days (days without funding/daily allowance) may therefore be taken into account. Any funding surpluses must be declared for tax purposes.
(1) Daily allowances
- The daily rates are divided into three country groups and are valid up to the 14th day of the stay. From the 15th to the 60th day, funding amounts to 70% of the daily rate.
- Funding is available for stays of at least 2 to a maximum of 14 days (excluding travel days).
In justified cases and subject to the availability of funds, funding for up to 60 days (excluding travel days) is possible.
Project 2025 and 2026
Country Group 1 – €180 per day (up to day 14; from day 15–60: €126 per day)
Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Austria, Sweden
Country Group 2 - €160 per day (up to day 14; from day 15–60: €112 per day)
Estonia, Greece, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Czech Republic, Cyprus
Country Group 3 - €140 per day (up to day 14; from day 15–60: €98 per day)
Bulgaria, Croatia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Hungary
(2) Travel allowance
- The calculation is based on the European Commission’s distance calculator based on the distance between the point of departure and the destination.
- You will receive a one-off flat-rate allowance for the return journey.
Project 2025 and 2026
- 10–99 km: €28 (Green Travel: €56)
- 100–499 km: €211 (Green Travel: €285)
- 500–1,999 km: €309 (Green Travel: €417)
- 2,000–2,999 km: €395 (Green Travel: €535)
- 3,000–3,999 km: €530 (Green Travel: €785)
- 4,000–7,999 km: €1,188 (Green Travel: €1,188)
- from 8,000 km: €1,735 (Green Travel: €1,188)
Sustainable travel – "Green Travel"
- "Green Travel" applies if you predominantly (more than 50%) use low-emission modes of transport (e.g. train, bus, bicycle or carpooling).
- With Green Travel, you receive higher travel allowances and additional travel days.
We would like to encourage you to choose sustainable travel options and plan your journey. Of course, journey times by train and bus are sometimes significantly longer than when travelling by air. However, you won’t need a luggage scale and you’ll have the opportunity to break your journey into stages, allowing you to get to know the places between our university and your host institution.
Further information:
Exceptional costs for expensive travel
- Exceptional travel costs may be funded if it can be demonstrated that the standard travel allowance covers less than 70% of the actual costs.
- In this case, up to 80% of the actual travel costs may be covered.
- If approved, the standard travel allowance does not apply.
(3) Travel days
- For standard travel, up to 2 travel days may be funded.
- For Green Travel, up to 4 additional travel days (i.e. a maximum of 6 in total) are possible, and you will also receive a higher travel allowance.
(4) Special grants
- Additional funding is available for participants with disabilities, chronic illnesses or for stays abroad with a child.
- The application for actual costs will be submitted on your behalf via Viadrina.
- The maximum funding amounts to up to €15,000 per mobility period.
Further information can be found at DAAD website.
Before your stay abroad
- Check the requirements and find a host institution
- Request a confirmation of funding from the Division of International Affairs
- Complete the Mobility Agreement, have it signed by the host institution and submit it by email (PDF)
- Draw up a cost estimate for travel and accommodation costs and submit it by email
- Submit a business trip application and download a PDF of the approval from the portal (via "print") and submit it by email (alternatively, apply for educational leave if applicable and also submit the approval by email)
- You will receive a pre-filled Grant Agreement from us; please check and sign it and return it by email
- If necessary, apply for an A1 certificate for your own records (business trips only)
- Book travel and accommodation; sustainable modes of transport are recommended and supported with a higher travel allowance and, where applicable, additional travel days
- Take out additional insurance where necessary, e.g. international health or liability insurance (Note: The Erasmus+ mobility grant does not include any insurance cover. If the Erasmus+ mobility takes place as part of a confirmed business trip, only the statutory accident insurance for full-time Viadrina staff applies, even abroad
Once all documents have been received, 70% of the grant will be paid out.
During your stay abroad
- Have the Letter of Confirmation signed by the host institution
- If necessary, collect receipts (invoices, tickets, etc.) for your own records for tax returns or as evidence for the voluntary declaration of sustainable travel
After your stay abroad
- Submit the Letter of Confirmation as a PDF via email
- Complete the EU Survey (online participant report); you will receive the link via email directly from the EU Beneficiary Tool
- If applicable, keep receipts for sustainable travel for 5 years yourself
- If applicable, declare any surplus mobility grant as income on your tax return, or conversely, declare any additional costs incurred
Once all documents have been received, 30%, i.e. the remaining grant, will be paid out.
Note on Online Language Support (OLS)
Online Language Support (OLS) is available via the EU Academy platform to all university members undertaking a period abroad as part of Erasmus+. You can voluntarily take language tests and online language courses before, during and after your stay. The service currently covers 24 languages.
- Go directly to the EU Academy.
- A guide and the European Commission’s Help Centre are available to answer any questions you may have.
Erasmus+ with partner countries (outside the EU)
The Erasmus+ KA107/171 programme enables the expansion of existing student and staff mobility to countries outside the European Union (so-called partner countries). The expansion of regular Erasmus+ mobility to these countries serves to deepen academic cooperation between Viadrina and its partner universities in Ukraine, Georgia and Kosovo.
Who can be funded?
University staff from all sectors can be funded under the Erasmus+ programme. This activity promotes the professional development of university teachers and other university staff through training activities abroad (other than conferences*) and work shadowing at a partner university or relevant institution abroad.
Examples of areas with eligible university staff:
- General & technical administration
- Library
- Faculties
- Faculties
- Finance
- International Office
- Public Relations
- Student Counselling
- Technology & Transfer
Examples of the continuing education formats:
- Further education
- Hospitation
- Job shadowing
- Study visits
- Participation in workshops and seminars
- Participation in language courses
There are various training programmes that you can find out about online.
*Additional information on funding for conferences: If it can be proven that new and innovative learning and teaching practices are acquired during the mobility, the activity of the participant during the event plays a subordinate role in terms of eligibility for funding. The type of event is more important: participation is not eligible if it is only dedicated to a specific discipline.
Possible places of stay
The stay must take place at one of the partner universities in Ukraine, Georgia, Russia or Kosovo.
Duration of stay
Stays abroad last at least 5 days and a maximum of 2 months.
There is no application deadline for participation in the Mobility with Partner Countries programme (KA107/171). Whether funding can be granted depends on the budget available and the number of applicants. If you are interested, please contact us directly, preferably with a 3-month lead time. As soon as you have our approval, you can submit the funding documents.
During the mobility
On the basis of the grant agreement, up to 100% of the allocated mobility grant is paid out.
The stay abroad must be confirmed by the host university on site. For this purpose, the Confirmation of Stay must be completed and signed by the host university.
After your return
After your return, you have 30 days to submit both the Confirmation of Stay to Viadrina International Affairs and to complete the report required by the EU (Online Participant Report). The link will be sent to you automatically from the EU database. If you do not complete the report within 30 days, the EU reserves the right to reclaim the amount already paid to you.
Mobility grant for further education and training
- A grant is paid out for training and further education stays to cover additional costs incurred during the stay.
- Employees with disabilities can apply for special funding.
- Weekends and holidays can only be subsidised if it can be proven that work or travel took place on these days (e.g. through confirmation from the host university).
- As travellers who are financed via a third-party funded project should not be in a better position than travellers who are financed from budget funds, any losses incurred must be claimed for tax purposes.
Amount of the mobility allowance
The amount of the mobility allowance is based on the following fixed rates:
- Amount up to and including the 14th day of the stay: 180 euros / day
- Amount from the 15th day of funding of the stay abroad: 126 euros / day
In addition to these daily rates, there is a flat-rate travel allowance depending on the actual distance between the place of departure and destination of the stay abroad, which is determined using a standardised calculation tool worldwide. The following amounts are reimbursed depending on the stay and the distance:
- 10 km - 99 km: 20 EUR
- 100 km – 499 km: 180 EUR
- 500 km – 1,999 km: 275 EUR
- 2,000 km – 2,999 km: 360 EUR
- 3,000 km – 3,999 km: 530 EUR
- 4,000 km – 7,999 km: 820 EUR
- 8,000 km and more: 1,500 EUR
- Mobility Agreement for Training
- Grant Agreement
- Letter of Confirmation for Training