What is ICM and how to apply?

International Credit Mobility (ICM) supports the mobility of individuals enrolled or employed at a higher education institution (HEI), from a Programme Country to a Partner Country or vice versa, namely:

Student mobility for studies, open to short cycle, first cycle (Bachelor or equivalent) or second cycle (Master or equivalent) students, as well as third cycle doctoral candidates. The physical mobility period can last from 2 months (or one academic term) to 12 months, or from 5 to 30 days for short-term doctoral mobility or if part of a blended mobility⁴.

Student mobility for traineeships, open to short cycle, first cycle (Bachelor or equivalent) or second cycle (Master or equivalent) students, recent graduates (who have applied during their last year of studies), as well as third cycle doctoral The mobility period can last from 2 to 12 months, or from 5 to 30 days for short-term doctoral mobility or if part of blended mobility.

Staff mobility for teaching for academic staff and for invited staff from non-academic organisations to teach at a partner higher education institution (HEI) abroad. The mobility period can last from 5 days to 2 months (60 days) and can also be carried out as blended mobility

Staff mobility for training for teaching and non-teaching staff in the form of training events abroad (excluding conferences), job shadowing, observation periods and/or training at a partner The mobility period can last from 5 days to 2 months and can also be carried out as blended mobility. This activity also supports the mobility of staff from Partner Country HEIs to train at a non-academic organisation located in a Programme Country.

Student and staff mobility can take place in any subject area or academic discipline. Moreover, HEIs are free to apply for staff mobility or student mobility, or any combination of the two.

Staff teaching and training activities can be combined. A study period and a traineeship can also be combined, for a minimum of 2 months (or one academic term) and a maximum of 12 months.

1.      Who can apply?

Any Programme Country HEI with an Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) is eligible to apply for ICM funding to its National Agency (NA) as an individual HEI and/or via a consortium application:

• For an application as an individual HEI: The applicant HEI must hold a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE)⁵.
• For an application as a national mobility consortium: The consortium must hold a higher education consortium Organisations that do not hold a valid consortium accreditation can apply for this accreditation at the same time as applying for a mobility project. All HEIs involved in the consortium must hold a valid ECHE.

1.      Eligible partner organisations

Only HEIs in Programme Countries are eligible to apply for and receive funds. Higher education institutions from around the world are eligible to take part in ICM as partners, with the exception of those located in regions 13 and 14.⁹

Participating Partner Country HEIs must be recognised as higher education institutions (HEI)¹⁰ by competent authorities. After the project has been selected for funding and before any mobility can take place, the Programme Country HEI must sign an inter-institutional agreement with their Partner Country HEIs. Find out more about this agreement in section II of this Handbook.

If an exchange takes place with a HEI that is not recognised, the mobility is considered ineligible and the funds must be recovered. As the organisation submitting the application and managing the funds, the Programme Country HEI is responsible for verifying the eligibility of all partners in their application, and throughout the project lifecycle.

Other organisations in Programme and Partner Countries are also eligible to take part in an ICM project. These organisations can host students on traineeship or HEI staff in training, while staff from these organisations can be invited to teach at an HEI. These organisations must be active in the labour market or in the fields of education, training and youth. See dedicated section on ‘Traineeships’.

2.      Roles and responsibilities

Participating organisations involved in the mobility project take on the following roles and responsibilities:

• The applicant organisation (always the Programme Country HEI) submits an application to its NA on behalf of its partner(s). The applicant can also apply on behalf of a consortium of several partners from the same Programme
• Once selected, the beneficiary organisation (always the Programme Country HEI) signs and manages the grant agreement, and reports at the end of the project. The beneficiary is financially responsible for the entirety of the
• The sending organisation (from either a Programme or a Partner Country) is responsible for selecting the students and staff and sending them This includes preparation, monitoring and recognition activities.
• The receiving organisation (from either a Programme or a Partner Country) hosts the students and staff from abroad, providing support during their

Students and staff apply directly for a grant at the institution where they are enrolled through open calls. The selection criteria for participation in the mobility activities are defined by the HEIs involved in the project in their IIA. Many of these procedures are flexible and institutions are welcome to find the arrangements which work best for their needs, for example, institutions may prefer to establish joint selection procedures. Selection criteria and procedures must be fair and transparent.

1.      Grant breakdown

The applicant organisation applies for a number of student and/or staff mobilities, based on which a grant is calculated. This grant will cover the following costs:

• Individual support

• Travel support

• Organisational support

The grant foresees an organisational support (OS) contribution of €500 per participant to cover costs directly linked to the implementation of mobility activities, such as the selection of participants, linguistic preparation, visa and insurance costs. It is important that the distribution of the OS grant reflect as far as possible each partner’s workload in support of the mobility project. The cooperating institutions should agree on how to use or share the OS grant and include the details in the inter- institutional agreement.

The rules of the programme allow transferring OS funds to travel and individual support (in order to fund longer or new mobilities). The use of this possibility presupposes that the HEIs are already providing high quality student and staff mobility, including visa and insurance support, as well as linguistic and cultural preparation for all participants. In case that flexibility is used, it cannot exceed 50% of the OS funds allocated to the whole project.

For more information on the grant, please refer to:

• Part B of the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.
• ICM Handbook

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¹⁸ The rates for student mobility for studies and for traineeships are the same. In ICM, there is no “top-up” grant for traineeship mobility.

¹⁹ The daily student rate applies on the physical component of a short-term blended mobility or a short-term doctoral mobility.

²⁰ These staff mobility rates apply up to the 14th day of activity, after which the grant drops to 70% of the amount shown.